The New Tribe
by Lighted Candle
Summary: Before his parents passed away, Jack wouldn't have given much thought to his mom's old stories, even though he knew they had some basis in truth. Now however, sharing those stories among the forgotten or orphaned are Jack's new way of living. The Pooka will come at a believer's call. Gen (No Romance). Eventual Pooka Jack Frost.
1. The Storyteller

The New Tribe

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Rise of the Guardians.

Author's note: This first chapter feels a little rough to me. Warning: hints of child abuse. A bit of inspiration came from Before the Next Sunset by Earth Star.

* * *

Chapter 1: The Storyteller

"Beware of the Pooka, mom whispered," A young boy enchanted his audience as he acted out his bedtime story. "If you call for them, they will come and take you away." A thrill went down the backs of young undernourished listeners. The children's faces held caution, not sure what it meant. "When unwanted, a terrible guardian will call." More orphans suddenly paid attention to the white-haired story teller, "To a child in need, they shall feed. For each greed, will they weed." Several of the parentless children looked slightly wistful, a few looking at their empty stomachs. "The Pooka, great and mighty indeed, kindest of the fae will heed."

"Jack, are they real?" The story teller's sister asked,

"Real? Of course their real, Emma! They are real, one of our ancestors called and was taken away." Jackson Overland confirmed to the 10 children in front of him.

"What do they look like?" Another child by the name of Claude asked, leaning forward.

"Hmm. I asked mom that and all she said were amazing warriors with muscle hidden under fur."

"Maybe a tiger?" Caleb, Claude's twin brother asked.

"Or a wolf?" Thaddeus, a boy a little older than Jack guessed, smiling.

"Or a bear?" the rest of the kids dissolved into an argument

"No a yeti!"

"No a jaguar!"

"No a cheetah!"

"Well I think it could be a panther!"

Jack's eye was caught by something out the window, "Everyone Alert!" he hissed. The noise stopped abruptly and the older children gulped as they saw their 'caretaker' coming back to the orphanage. Despite being equally scared, Jack started whispering again to distract the others, "I think I've seen a Pooka before," drawing everyone's attention again, "It was the week before Easter. He was taller than most adults when he stood on his hind legs and he had greyish blue fur. He was armed with boomerangs and a paintbrush."

"A paintbrush?" Little lady Lana asked, scrunching her nose.

Jack nodded, "A warrior and artist." A door banged open, the kids jumped and scurried to their bedsides, struggling to look attentive. Little Lana began to hyperventilate as footsteps came up the stairs. "Lana!" Jack breathed, "Look at me! Breathe in, breathe out. That's it, breathe in, breathe out..."

There was the click of the door unlocking, the handle turning, the metal hinges creaking. The children took in a shuddering breath and then the door slammed against the wall, a tall man with the tiniest of noses and crooked ears stalked into the room, dark brown eyes scanning the posture of the children in front of him. The man had a mean pet rat sitting on his shoulders. They were more or less able to hide their trembling. The somewhat drunk adult's frown grew as his eyes met the white-haired boy's brown defiant eyes.

"Hmm..." Mr. Spot (or as Jack secretly called him, Mr. Spoot) inspected each of the children thoughtfully, "There is a... gathering being put together soon. Maybe even one of you might be lucky enough to be 'adopted'... Albino!" Jack stiffened warily, "You have chores to do. And," a drunken smile grew, "No dinner." Jack flinched, he had already gone without food for two days and the hunger panes hurt almost as much as the whipping or bruising he knew was coming. "Well, the food will be given out once you leave Albino. Get going." Jack quickly and quietly hurried out of the room.

Normally, a meal consisted of a half of a piece of bread and half of a fruit or vegetable. Dread curdled in the older children's stomachs. For some reason, each child received twice that tonight. Even so, the other children, Thaddeus, Claude, Caleb, Tyke, Josh, Kristopher, Helen, Willow, Emma, and even little Lana dared not save even a crumb for Jack or the future. Mr. Spot's tiny terrier always found any evidence of food and then the children knew that not only the child being 'punished' would have a longer and harder penalty, but the child who dared save a morsel would suffer the same. Only Jack had so far managed once to save food for Willow when she was sick from a 'punishment'.

Jack moved as quickly as he could from chore to chore, not wanting to be separated from the others for long. Late at night, Jack was pushed back into the 'orphan room' so stiff from all the bruises that Jack could hardly even limp to his bed. Who knew a bar of soap could cause so much pain? Thaddeus and Emma were the only ones still awake.

"Mr. Spoot is getting a little jittery about the police, more so than normal. Promise me that you'll call for the Pooka if you all feel uneasy or in danger." Jack begged the two.

"But how do you know the Pooka will even want us?" Emma whispered frightened,

"In nearly all the tales the fae appreciate children because it's hard for them to have them, but the Pooka dearly loved children. And the one I saw... he saved my life."

"So that's how you know." Thaddeus marveled.

"Actually I know about the stories from my mom. She heard the stories from her mother over in Ireland. Grandmother was really old and the great-great-great-granddaughter of someone who was taken and raised by the Pooka. Apparently those with Pooka blood live a bit longer, but have trouble having more than one or two children. The pooka I saw was a bit gruff, but you could tell that he didn't want me to be hurt. I think I was around Claude and Clyde's age at the time. He was really cool and fast!"

"What did he look like?" Thaddeus pounced.

Jack's brown eyes twinkled with mischief, "Can't tell you that, that would mess up the fun. You'll just have to wait and see." The other two groaned disappointed.

After a moment Emma spoke up "Jack? Why don't we call the Pooka tonight?"

Jack sighed, attempting to sit up, but wincing instead, "In order to call for the pooka, you either have to be in immediate danger or call on behalf of someone else. Also as much as I'd love to come with you, I made a promise to Pippa to rescue her, remember? I need to spread the story of the Pooka to the underground anyway."

"I want to help you Jack." Thaddeus's hazel eyes stared into Jack's chestnut colored ones.

"You are. By watching over the others. I'm trusting you to keep my sister and our friends safe." Jack guided Emma's hand into Thaddeus's hand.

"Be safe Jack." Emma whispered.

"As safe as I can be. Look."

"How?!" the other two gasped as Jack revealed not one but two bruised apples.

"I'm good with tricks remember? There's an over grown apple branch in the yard. These were behind the half dug dog hole.

"You need to eat them." Thaddeus pushed them back towards Jack, "We already had twice our normal meal."

Jack's brown eyes widened in concern, "I think you're not going to see me for a while. Mr. Spoot is coming for me in the morning. Muttered something about being gone for a couple of days."

"A couple of days! Last time that happened one of the kids got sick and another disappeared." Thaddeus panicked.

"Thaddeus! It's okay, I will find my way back to all of you. And you and the other can escape now." Jack soothed his tired 'brother' and sister, "I'm the fastest here remember? I'll escape Mr. Spoot and his pet rat. It'll be alright." Jack yawned, "Promise me you'll call the Pooka."

"Promise."

"Promise." The other two echoed, smiling slightly as they went back to bed.


	2. The Emergency

The New Tribe

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Rise of the Guardians.

Author's Note: A bit of inspiration came from Before the Next Sunset by Earth Star

Chapter 2: The Emergency

Willow, a quiet girl with ash-reddish hair, was the first to wake. After a few sluggish moments, she was able to sit up and scanned each bed. Well as far as a single mattress or two counted as a bed. There was little Lana, who clutched Jack's old ratty hoodie as her pillow. There was Thaddeus, the oldest of the bunch at age 13, then the twins, who even while asleep echoed the other's movements, and then Tyke... who had somehow ended up between the wheezing box spring and stained top mattress. On her side of the room, Josh had fallen onto the floor again but slept on, Jack was sleeping uneasily, Emma was also restless as she curled under her blanket shivering, Helen was half on and half off the bed, while Kristopher slept in a more normal position.

Willow shivered as her bare feet touched the floor, but made herself stand anyway and walk to the restroom. A bit dingy and icky, but the owner of the house before Mr. Spot installed it and both girl and boys were grateful for the plumbing and for the fact that Mr. Spot had a strange fear of hand germs, whatever those were. Maybe they were something like cooties, Willow mused. Otherwise the 'Orphan Room' would have been even more depressing, having to wait to go or worse (in a corner). The orphans had access to sink water to drink (even if it tasted a little odd or sometimes caused diarrhea) and Mr. Spot knew it, never bringing any. He would however bring soap occasionally and expected the orphans to use it sparingly, but also thoroughly. By the time Willow had finished washing up, little Lana was tugging on her leg for help to reach the privy.

* * *

Apparently, today was one where you ran around the backyard to satisfy the hearing of an inquisitive neighbor. No one ever saw the orphans once they reached Mr. Spot's home unless you were the inspector or a prospective parent and there was hardly any prospective parents when it was a time where most families struggled to put food on the table. Mr. Spot didn't lack for food or money, but instead, he hoarded every donation penny with glee and giving the orphans the bare minimum to survive. Unfortunately there wasn't inspections very often to improve the children's surroundings and when there were inspections, it was in times where most people in the town struggled to survive so Mr. Spot could explain the poor quality away.

Jack was content to play the younger games with Lana, Tyke, and Helen under Mr. Spot's suspicious sneering supervision, while the others played freezer tag. The laughter made Jack relax as he alternately played patty cake or hot potato. With the happiness in the air (even slightly muted as it was), Jack found it easier to ignore his throbbing bruises. A little while later, Mr. Spot allowed everyone to have lunch, grumbling as he handed Jack an apple.

"...I can't decide whether you are cursed or not albino."

"Jack's NOT cursed and he is not an Albino!" Emma hissed lowly under her breath, refraining from yelling louder at the mean man when Jack shot Emma a warning glance, scooting in front of her. The others held their breath until Mr. Spot had left.

"We know, Emma." Willow reached out and took Emma's hand, squeezing lightly. Every orphan eventually shared their story (or someone else did for them) and the eleven kids knew that Jack had been born with brown hair, but it had changed to white when he nearly froze to death in the woods near his first home while saving Emma's life.

"Jack's definitely not cursed." Thaddeus agreed adamantly,

"_'Sides_, if one of us is cursed, then we all are." Kristopher scoffed as he chomped on the last of his apple. His facial scars had prevented him having much hope of ever being wanted after his 'adoption' experiences.

"I'd rather be like one of those warrior helpful Pooka than a mean adult." Josh growled, scowling after Mr. Spot. The other orphans paused,

"...If it meant getting rescued... I mean here is not bad as it could be but..." Claude trailed off, leaving his twin Caleb to finish saying,

"...We'd like to be more than prisoners."

"...I'm afraid when someone disappears and if I'll be next." Willow, the third eldest admitted.

"But what if the Pooka don't want us?" Kristopher demanded, "Or if they aren't alive any more!?"

Jack felt a little nauseated at the idea.

"We'll just haffta have to hope." Little Lana piped up. Helen and Tyke, despite being a little older and taller, quickly followed Little Lana's lead. Jack couldn't help but quirk his lips upward.

Too soon, 'playtime' was over and there were chores (most were made up or repeated since the building was mostly clean already). Then there was another double portioned meal of apples and bread before they were sent to bed. Mr. Spot snickered as one by one, the children passed out from the 'special-made' bread, not suspecting a thing. Not that the children knew it was 'special' bread, because it looked and smelled the same as the normal bread did.

* * *

When the orphans next awoke, a little more disoriented than was normal, Jack was gone.

* * *

Thaddeus pounded on the locked door, frustrated. Several of the others were saving their energy by taking turns napping. However, each orphan could spot the hidden or not so hidden sounds of crying or frustration. They were hungry and last time someone had disappeared, the other children didn't get fed for two days.

"Thad!" Tyke scrambled over to Thaddeus, beaming as Tyke held up two bruised apples, a day older than when the older boy had last seen them.

"Stubborn, lucky, thick-headed..." Thaddeus sighed, "Thank you Jack." Thaddeus murmured, his hands trembling a little as he reached for the apples, "Go wake everyone up."

Two apples divided among ten starved kids don't last very long, even with tiny bites.

Jack was the best storyteller and distracter, but Josh and Emma were good storytellers in a pinch. Thaddeus... didn't have much skill at it, opting for smaller games as distractions. It was close to nighttime and the orphans were in the middle of a hot potato game with Jack's old hoodie (although it wasn't much of a hot potato as it was something everyone could remember Jack once wearing) when the back door downstairs rattled.

Listening anxiously, the children shuddered as they heard drunken laughter.

"Robbers," Kristopher hissed after hearing things crash downstairs.

"They're probably looking for the money Mr. Spoot keeps." Thaddeus agreed, "Supposedly or not."

* * *

Later as they huddled underneath the window, the children dared not even breathe as the handle shook. Something scratched the lock before they heard a yell of triumph in a different part of the house. The scratching stopped and footsteps left.

"Oh no." Willow whispered, as the smell of smoke filled the air.

"No, nonononono." Helen chanted, not quite understanding the unseen danger.

"Everyone ready to see if the Pooka exist?" Josh asked. The growing panic was throttled to a smaller level.

"Great and Mighty Pooka hear our call." Emma started, closing her eyes, holding onto Willow and Helen tightly.

"Strong and Powerful Pooka please help us all." Thaddeus hugged the younger kids, hoping they would get out of this alive, that he could keep his promise to Jack.

"We wish that you could take Thaddeus, Emma, Lana, Helen, Claude, Caleb, Kristopher, Tyke, Josh, and myself away." Willow wished. Each child hoped stronger as the smoke became thicker. A shaking Thaddeus and then a sneezing Emma repeated their makeshift call.

And then with a crash, a window broke and there was a rush of leaves and then... they were gone.


	3. The Pooka

The New Tribe

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Rise of the Guardians.

Author's Note: A bit of inspiration came from Before the Next Sunset by Earth Star. I don't know if Bunny's Australian accent will come out right, so if you know how it could go better, feel free to critique. Warning: Claustrophobic and scared Jack scene

* * *

Chapter 3: The Pooka

E. Aster Bunnymund could not look any more shocked if he had tried. Not only were there children tangled in front of his feet, but they had appeared by the ancient (and assumed) forgotten power of the Earth's Pookan call. The call for a child to come join his tribe. While it wasn't necessarily difficult for the Pooka to have children, Pooka had extremely long lives and children often ended up being few and far between. However, it wasn't just the fact that kits were few and a step above rare that made any children of any species very special to the Pooka. It was the fact that children embodied the spread of new hope. The Pooka guarded the First Light, the first and greatest weapon against the darkness and the creatures therein. The First Light was the very essence of life and hope and the young were a physical representation of that new beginning.

E. Aster Bunnymund shook himself out of his daze as the children stirred,

"...Grass?" A boy with black hair opened his eyes, "Guys look! It worked! It really worked!" The hope was nearly tangible, if a bit hysterical and almost knocked Aster off of his feet.

The kids scrabbled to their feet, with a few stumbles and almost tripping over each other.

"Bunny!" The tiniest of the bunch cried out in delight, drawing ten pairs of eyes to the Pooka.

"He's huge!" a little boy whispered, awed.

Now that they were standing, Bunny could see how the wariness in their eyes contrasted with the hope Bunny could feel, "Good 'ay ankle-biters." Aster fumbled for words before eying the kids, immediately bluntly asking, "Up for some tucker?"

"Food?" a little brown-haired girl repeated longingly.

"Tucker it is then. Well, come on, watch out for my googies." This was probably a dream from Sandman, Aster decided. A very realistic, surreal dream caused by too many late nights and stress.

After all, he was the last of his kind and what would make ten ankle-biters not only hear a forgotten story about the call of the Pooka and then want to be Pooka?

* * *

Jack awoke in darkness, gagged and hands tied behind his back. It sounded far away, but Jack could hear the faint noises of a car engine and the turning of rubber wheels on a dirt road. His heart rate accelerated as he found he couldn't move without bumping a hard wooden wall. Too close, _Too close_! Jack hiccuped and started pounding the walls, hoping for there to be light, air, _something_! He felt dizzy and shaky and growing nausea as the box he was in rattled.

_Jack was younger... it was almost Easter... he was coming home from setting traps for the Easter Bunny... a sheep shed... heart in his throat as he misstepped... falling... trapped... an old well... crying out for help... darkness... shadows crawling... unable to climb out... trapped... sobbing... Help!... night... rain... Help!... stuck... mud... Help!... falling upwards?... fur... warmth... accent... fur... tired... being carried home... bunny ears... sleep..._

Jack sobbed as the memory replayed over and over, curling up in the human sized box, trembling. _Oh_ how he wanted to be free again! To be rescued... _Bunny save me!_

* * *

"Don't eat so fast!" Thaddeus cried out in alarm.

"But it's so good!" Josh whined, a few of the others agreeing. Aster was a bit taken aback, the Guardians had never enjoyed his meals so much, not that they have had many. North always complained about the lack of meat, Tooth liked carrots- just not carrot soup, Sandy... liked it but preferred cider or eggnog. As a former wishing star, Sandy didn't really get hungry.

"I know it's hard but, you'll get sick if you eat too fast. Our stomachs aren't used to so much food, we need to let it digest." Thaddeus lectured. The kid sounded honestly scared that someone might get sick rather than just concerned, Aster noted.

The kid with a couple of nasty scars kept glancing at him, looking both suspicious and trying to reassure himself that Aster was still there. Actually, now that Aster was paying attention, all of the kids were sneaking similar looks at him.

"...So what's your name Mr. Pooka? Mine's Kristopher." Kristopher inspected the tall humanoid Bunny. The ten sets of determined eyes were definitely watching Aster, Aster mused.

"E. Aster Bunnymund." Aster was getting a little annoyed at Sandy, but answered the question anyway.

Emma was the first to put the clues together, "You're the Easter Bunny?!"

Aster paused, why did the kids sound so surprised? "Pooka, Easter Bunny, and Guardian of Hope." He confirmed, before finishing drying his soup pot.

"Huh... No wonder why Jack liked Easter so much." Thaddeus mumbled, "Though I'm not sure if he made the connection between Pooka and Easter."

"..." Aster paused in putting the pot away. As a result, the pot was a little unstable and as soon as Bunny moved his hand, the pot came down and crashed on Aster's head, the Pooka catching the pan a little too late, "Ow." As soon as his green eyes opened and he found himself staring into a couple of concerned eyes, he blurted out, "Oh blimey, you're all real aren't you? It's not just Sandy's dream sand..." Aster hesitantly touched the closest child's hair gently. "...I thought the Call had been forgotten."

"Jack knew it from his mother." The oldest Shelia told him softly,

"Crikey." Aster breathed bewildered, "Who's Jack? And what are your names?"

There was an awkward silence. Little Lana broke it, "I'm Lana and Jack's the Storyteller. That's Thad, Willy, Claue and Clyb, Kurt, Em, Helen, Tyke, and Josh." Little Lana beamed while about four of the kids winced or made a face at their shortened names. A tiny smile twitched on the corner of Aster's mouth.

"It's Willow, not Willy." the oldest Shelia corrected quickly.

"And it is Claude..."

"and Caleb..."

"We're twins" The two boys said together, almost identical except Caleb had wild, unruly hair that made the Pooka itch for a comb and Claude had a threadbare dirty red beanie hiding his hair.

The Pooka turned to an ankle biter around age nine with a questioning gaze. He hadn't caught her name, "Emma, Jack's my older brother."

"Where is Jack now?" Aster had thought at first the Storyteller was an older person, but with this new information, an uneasy feeling grew, "And how much did he know about the Pooka's?"

The oldest ankle-biters looked at each other, silently debating with their eyes and flickering to the younger ones. The kid... Kurt? Sighed a bit aggravated and turned to Bunnymund,

"Can I take the little ones exploring around outside?"

Before the younger ones could protest, Bunny agreed, handing Kurt some spare paintbrushes, "Sure mate. If you're careful, you can paint some of my googlies too. Try not to fall in the paint rivers!" Bunny warned as the ankle-biter began running out the egg-shaped door.

Willow's eyes lighted up in curiosity, "I'll go help Kristopher then."

Thad and Emma remained behind with Bunny.

"How much did Jack know about the call and about Pooka's? How much do you know Emma?"

Emma fiddled with her anxiously, "To start off with, one of our ancestors had been taken by the Pooka or had Pooka magic, I'm not sure which."

"Oh. Well that makes sense why the magic likes you so much. It's easier to make the Call of the Pooka if you have that sort of magic in your blood. Pooka magic in small doses encourages elemental magic if ever activated. As a Pooka, however, that sort of magic is a lot more amplified."

"Oh. How do you know if you have activated it?"

"You'd feel an attachment to a particular element."

"Jack might have activated his then, he is very fond of snow and frost." Thad spoke up, "Well at least the fun part. He doesn't like being cold or hungry for longer than a couple of days."

"Interesting, not many people with such little magic can activate it if they are still mortal." Aster mused before shaking his head, "What else? Thad?"

"I prefer Thaddeus. Short version; Jack believed that in order for the Call of the Pooka to work for a child, one (or several in our case) had to be in immediate danger or have someone else call for you to be taken away by the Pooka. That the Pooka cared about children"

"That's the truth. Children are very precious to Pooka, and with the Call, the Pooka could take children in from unfit guardians and away from danger. It doesn't have to be immediate danger though. It could be the lack of home or protection in general." Aster agreed, "In most cases, so long as there is one Pooka still alive, the ancient magic will act on it's own and bring the child or children to safety."

"Umm... Aster?" Emma bit her lip, a little troubled.

"Call me Bunny. All my mates do."

"Why are you so surprised that Jack knew about the call?"

"Stories fade in time and it's been so long..." Bunny paused for a while, "I am the last of the Pooka. On Earth or anywhere else." Bunny looked close to crying now that Thaddeus and Emma were paying closer attention. Thaddeus really hoped that he wouldn't. Bunny chuckled a little, "I'm not going to cry ankle-biter."

Thaddeus jumped up a little, "How?"

"I'm a little sensitive to other people's hopes. Part of being Guardian of Hope."

"You've said that twice now. What does Guardian of Hope mean?" Thaddeus inquired.

"I protect the hopes of children mate. There are other Guardians and we protect the children of Earth from evil spirits."

"Why not more that evil spirits?" Emma folded her arms,

"Spirits and non-human sentient species aren't supposed to meddle, at least directly, in mortal affairs. It gets messy real quick." Bunny explained, "Take for example the Call, Pooka can't take a child away unless asked too... and unless believed in, spirits can't be seen. I'm believed in as the Easter Bunny, but not much as a Pooka. I can help a lost child find their way home or a new home if necessary as the Easter Bunny, but because I'm not believed in as a Pooka, I can't be the one to give a child a new home if necessary. Does that make sense?"

"I think so?" Emma questioned while Thaddeus nodded a 'yes'.

"Okay. So we are missing one part of the story of the Call. Did Jack say anything else?"

"I think Jack believed in the Pooka in part because of his family traditions, but mostly because he believed a Pooka saved his life." Thaddeus hesitantly admitted, Aster completely focused on the new information.

"Were there hints of any other Pookas?" Emma asked finally getting out the question that had been stewing in her mind.

"No, not as far as I'm aware of and I've been looking for a very long time. How was his life saved?" On one hand (or paw), Aster hoped that it had been someone else so Aster could know if there was another Pooka out there, but on the other hand, Aster wanted to know if he had met this Storyteller named Jack.

"It was a few years ago. Jack still had brown hair and I think he was a little younger than I am now. Someone of your description, tall and furry armed with boomerangs and a paintbrush rescued him from an old well a week before Easter." Aster squashed his disappointment as he thought back. He huffed out a chuckle,

"...That lucky little larrikin? He tried to set traps to catch a glimpse of me almost every Easter."

"Sounds like Jack alright." Emma giggle-sobbed.

"Where is he? Wait, I keep getting distracted. Did Jack tell you that after twenty-four hours, you will turn into Pooka too?"

The children froze, "No...but I think everyone agreed that if it were to happen, if you wanted us, it would be better than going back. You won't make us go back, will you?"

"Only if you wanted it. If you all would like too, you are more than welcome to stay. I don't want anyone becoming a Pooka and then regretting it later. There's a maze you have to beat if you want to stay human." Bunny fretted.

"I'll tell the others, but I think we are going to stay." Emma smiled at Bunny as the Pooka finally allowed a new hope to grow and blossom in the ancient being's heart. One that he hadn't had since a few centuries after the death of his people. But now there were going to be kits running around the Warren! Emma left leaving a serious Thaddeus behind.

"So what happened to Jack?"

Thaddeus took a deep breath, "Mr. Spoot took Jack."

"Who's Mr. Spoot?" Bunny growled softly to not scare the kid in front of him.

"The orphanage jailer. Mr Spot sounds like a harmless by his name but he confines his real character to the bar and the orphanage. Even if we tried to tell someone, they never took anyone named Mr. Spot seriously. So Jack called him Mr. Spoot behind the man's back. I know the others and I are scared for Jack. He's only a year younger than I am. Jack tries to be strong for all of us, but he has a very gentle heart that's easily bruised."

"Do you have something of Jack's?"

"Yeah, Lana uses his old sweatshirt as a safety blanket and pillow. Are you going to find him?"

"Of course I am. I'm not going to leave a kid in danger and anyway I need to thank him for getting all of ya ankle-biters here even if you want to leave." Bunny was in a whirlwind of sudden motion throughout his den, looking for something. It was a lever, Thaddeus realized as Bunny flicked it all the while pointing his ears towards Thaddeus.

Thaddeus relaxed a little, "Nah, I'm not going to leave. But while you are gone, what if someone uses the Call? Could it be blocked? Could we just Call Jack here?"

"I have a couple of mates who can keep an eye on y'all and the Warren. The magic of the Call would bring that ankle-biter here. If it was blocked somehow by another spirit, the Call would drag me to that child in need. Jack..." Bunny sighed, "He or someone else on the outside of my Warren would have to make that call. Since you've used the Call and are now in the Warren, it's not that simple. I was a ranger back when there were other Pookas, I will find Jack and make sure he's safe."

"Who are your 'mates'?" Thaddeus asked cautiously.

"The other Guardians. Did I not tell- oh! Well we should probably go warn the others. North... is a little dramatic and strange. As is Tooth. And then there's Sandy. You'd probably know them as Father Christmas, the Tooth Fairy (she's not actually a fairy), and the Sandman." Bunny hadn't been this excited in ages. Had he looked behind him, Bunny would have seen Thaddeus stumble a little (actually a lot, he tripped over his own feet onto the ground) in shock at the casual mention of the other legends.

They found the kids, some of whom had changed colors since the last time they had seen them. Thaddeus blinked. Who knew that shy Willow had such a temper? The twins were edging away from Willow, who was a tie-dye of purple, green and blue and was currently torn between glaring or laughing at the other kids and looking sheepish at Bunny. Tyke looked like he had fallen in bright neon sunny soup, while Lana and Helen had splotches of pink and blue all over their clothes. Kristopher didn't seem to care that his hair was as white as Jack's currently. Emma waved from where she was sitting with Helen on her lap and Josh sleeping against her. Despite that, several googies had been painted or dyed very neatly (with more than a few oops-es running around).

Willow coughed, a flush rising in her cheeks, "Sorry Bunny. Some of us slipped in the coloring river, despite your warnings."

"I can see that." Bunny smirked, hiding his frown that came with such worrying hopes. He didn't want the kids to be afraid of him, "There should be a couple of showers or baths somewhere around my house. And a few shampoos that I'd get occasionally from North for Christmas. Never mind the fact I never use them." Bunny hinted.

"No thanks." the twins denied immediately.

Willow flashed a hesitant smile at Bunny before she turned on the twins with an irate triumphant gleam in her eyes, "Oh you're going to get clean with the nicest, flowery shampoo I can find." The twins would have denied the fact they gulped in terror, but they were caught in a matter of moments when they tried to run and were dragged back towards Bunny's house, whining and struggling. A few of the orphans snickered at Claude and Caleb's plight, not feeling very sorry in the slightest since the twins had been the ones to start the mess and gotten the least painted.

"What do you want?" Kristopher demanded.

"He's going to go find Jack." Thaddeus spoke up.

"Really? Maybe you'll be worth hanging around," But Bunny could see through Kurt's grumblings by the flare of hope. Kurt was hoping that Jack would be safe and that Bunny wouldn't force the kids to leave. Judging by the number of painted googlies around him and the tight grip on the boy's paintbrush, Kurt had become the tiniest bit attached to the Warren.

"I hope so too mate, because if you stay, you'll be stuck with me. At the very least as friends, but if you want... maybe even family forever." Everyone listening stilled, their bursts of tentative hope almost painful to Bunny.


	4. The Guardians

The New Tribe

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Rise of the Guardians.

Author's Notes: Thank you to my readers and reviewers. I'm really excited about this story so far. I can't say much without giving plot points away, but all of the original Burgess believers will show up one way or another eventually.

Chapter 4: The Guardians

* * *

"Hey, little ankle-biter... could I take a sniff of that hoodie?" Bunny was crouching down, trying to seem as small and harmless as possible. However, he still towered over the five year old.

"It's Jack's" Lana sniffled as she clutched it closer to her.

"I know ankle-biter, I need to smell it to be able to catch Jack's trail." Bunny coaxed.

"You'll find him?" Big soulful hazel eyes gazed solemnly into Bunny's spring green eyes.

"As soon as I can." Bunny reassured her. Lana bit her lower lip before deciding on something.

"Pinkie promise?" She stuck out her tiny hand and even tinier pinkie.

"Pinkie promise." It was almost humorous except for how important it was; how even Bunny's smallest finger was larger than the girl's entire hand, but Lana tried to wrap her finger around it anyway.

"Ok." Lana hesitantly and slowly handed her safety blanket over.

Bunny carefully handled the fragile fabric and sniffed it. Several newer scents, predominately Lana's, hid a much older and weaker scent that belonged to none of the other orphans playing in the Warren. But it was enough to catalog the smell as Jack's.

As Bunny handed the old fabric back into Lana's grateful arms, there was a large _THUD_! Bunny whirled around and wasn't sure whether to groan or chortle. Aster settled on an utterly bland nothing-can-surprise-me expression. It was rather comical how bewildered North appeared as several children immediately dived behind Bunny or closer trees.

"North, weapons!" Bunny rolled his eyes and hissed. Instantly, the giant Russian hid his not-very-inconspicuous large sabers behind his back.

Someone giggled. "Santa!" Bunny tried to remember the youngest boy's name.

"..._That's Santa_?" Kristopher blinked owlishly like someone had figuratively hit him over the head with a large rubber ducky marshmallow.

"...Santa has swords?" Josh peeked out from behind Bunny. Realizing that the kids could still see his weapons at Bunny's exasperated glare, North hastily resheathed his swords. Josh seemed to be thinking it over, "...cool!"

"North, how did you get so far in my Warren without your dingy old racket?"

North's chuckle was a recovering _boom_ of noise, "Ah, Bunny-man through your chimney of course! Sleigh's outside."

Bunny eyed North incredulously, "I don't have a chimney, ya gumby! Ya used one of those magician's tricks again didn't you?"

"Makes good entrance, no?" North boasted,

"And the others will arrive in...three...two...one..." Bunny softly warned the kids just in time.

In a flurry of feathers, Toothiana whirled like a tornado into the oasis of spring. Her extended swords a reminder of her status as a Warrior Queen. Riding an floating elephant of golden sand, Sandy circled the skies of the Warren before landing.

"Children?" Tooth questioned as she descended, swords disappearing as soon as she was sure there were no evil spirits about, "Bunny, what's going on?"

"The Call of the Pooka." Bunny's eyes sparked with hidden excitement.

"Someone wished this many children away?" Tooth gaped, beginning to bristle in fury.

"We wished ourselves away." Thaddeus corrected as he stepped away from a tree, folded arms in unconscious imitation of Bunny's aggressive posture.

An exclamation mark appeared over Sandy's head, followed by a question mark. Lana's eyes peered determined at the man a tad taller than herself.

"Why-?" Norths self-questioning question caught the children's ire.

"Because no one else good wants us!" Kristopher stormed out from behind Thaddeus, "We'd rather become Pooka if it meant no more whippings, no more hungry stomachs, no more being locked in a room... if it means having a family!" Kristopher ranted as all four Guardians paled drastically.

Bunny dropped down to face the kids, "Hey, slow down ankle-biter, North didn't mean it like that. Kids are important to us all. You're welcome here...come here," Bunny opened his arms and nearly fell over with how many hugs and sniffles there were clinging and cuddling to him, setting old parental instincts afire. "Come on..." Bunny encouraged when he noticed Kristopher hesitating. Kristopher gave a small smile as he joined the pile, knocking Bunny over onto the grass.

"So vhat is emergency?" North asked after a moment.

"We want to know if Jack's ok," a new voice drew the guardian's attention to a young girl, two freshly bathed kids hiding behind her.

"Mr. Spoot don't like 'im." That was Helen's voice, Bunny noted.

"And Spoot took Jack." Willow frowned, scowling. A child should not look so grim as the older ankle-biters did, Bunny thought mournfully.

"I promised I'd find him, but I need someone to watch over the kids, my Warren is very new to them." Sandy's hand was volunteering, "Thanks Sandy. Ankle-biters, that's the Sandman, Guardian of Dreams. That's North, Guardian of Wonder and that's Tooth, Guardian of Memories. Guardians meet Thaddeus, Willow, ...is it Kurt or Kristopher?"

Kristopher shrugged, "Either's fine."

"Alright, and those are the twins... their names start with a 'C'"

The twins snicker and chorus simultaneously, "Claude and Caleb!"

"Yep, that's them, and there's Lana, Helen, Umm..." Bunny still couldn't recall the right name.

The little ankle-biter a size bigger than Lana clapped his hands, "I'm Tyke!"

"That's Tyke, and that's Emma and Josh." Bunny finished proudly.

Tooth wanted to doubt that all the kids wanted to become Pookas, but with all those happy smiles, some beginning on the verge of adoring Bunny she couldn't bring herself to ask. Instead, she tried to find happiness for Bunny and the kids. She hoped none of them would regret it. Now...about those teeth...

* * *

Bunny and North searched the rubble of the orphanage for clues, as any tracks leading to and from the wreckage had been destroyed by the fire brigade volunteers, and gawkers hours previous. With his Pooka hearing, Aster listened to some local gossip while digging, filtering out the everyday chatter and focused on the more interesting conversations.

"...knew it! There was always something sinister about Mr. Spot." The first voice was triumphant.

"...I heard a kid call him Mr. Spoot...very disrespectable I told you...some truth afterall..." the second voice belonged to a more elderly person.

"...Hah! Told yah all, the man grew up in a thieve's den... you must have misheard. With all his wickedness, the kid must have said Mr. Spook! The man's a ghost!" The first voice yelped.

"...Did he infect the kids? ...why no one can find the bodies! They're already dead!"

The old gossipers shrieked as they spread the word like tornadoes in a lake raining fish.

Meanwhile, Bunny and North split up to look around and outside the town for identifying signs of Jack's kidnapper.

"...But Mam! Kids don't just disappear!" A young man's voice argued.

"Well then, you explain the lack of bones in the burnt building! What else but spirits could accomplish such trickery!" the woman's voice huffed.

"Mam, I don't believe in spirits. What would Pa say?"

As North snuck around the town, using old bandit skills that were exercised yearly on Christmas duties, the Russian heard, "...how the orphans vanished later, maybe Mr. Spot could answer our questions when he comes back from burying the departed albino child with his parents." North frowned, worried as he hoped Jack was still alive.

"Where was the youth from again?" the older fire brigade volunteer yawned, as the young Watchman helper thought on it.

"I dunno...someplace called Buguss I think,"

"Well anyway, if there was anything nefarious about Mr. Spot, it had something to do with him not struggling to keep his head above water when the storms come. I always thought it likely that it had to do with an inheritance from some rich relative... Maybe even tak'n the kid's inheritance if they had any."

"Well he definitely had money according to a thief in the Sherrif's holding cell."

"Oh?" the older gentleman raised an eyebrow

"Don't know if it's true. The man was drunk when he robbed Mr. Spot's house. Keeps crying that his partner was killed by a black horse and that it stole the money."

The other man scoffed, "Drunkards."

But while the other men mocked the drunk thief, North felt something unpleasant stir in his belly.

"NORTH!" Bunny popped out of a hole, excited, "I found the trail out of the town!"

Now North was fond of a little mischief, but as he yelled down a tube with no warning, he promised himself to throw Bunny through snowglobe next time. If a child was not in so much danger, North would have sent Bunny to North Pole in return. But friendly vengeance would have to wait, especially if there were corporeal Nightmares running around.

North ran as tried to keep up with Bunny. Neither of them noticed the interested rain sprite that watched them from above before it flew off.

* * *

Dumped out of the box onto the ground, Jack trembled and tried desperately to keep the few nutrients that he had inside his stomach. He lost them anyway when he realized that the box he had been trapped in was a rudimentary coffin. The gag was more disgusting and icky than before, even if his throw up had been mostly water.

Even if he wanted too, Jack was so sore from the cramped position he had been in (and his still healing bruises and bindings) that Jack couldn't move away from his curled position as Mr. Spoot came closer.

The cruel man scowled, "I'm finally getting rid of you and now I find out what scares you?" Mr. Spoot scoffed, nudging Jack's quaking body with a dusty boot. Jack whimpered as Mr. Spoot's pet rat started to bite his legs and arms. Mr. Spoot sneered, "Mince! Bite him every time he moves, while I untie the cords around his feet." The creepy black rat nodded! Jack's stared at it shocked, before a hand hauled him up by the back of his hoodie. Jack stumbled, falling face first into the ground as Mr. Smoot pushed him. "Can't walk?" Smoot smirked, "Too bad," and proceeded to drag Jack by his hoodie, legs scrapping the rocky path they were taking. It was getting darker out as the pair neared a shed of some sort.

It... was going to hurt when he regained feeling in his bare feet, Jack noted after a while of regaining his bearings and winced as Mince bit him on his heel. Hold on! He was beginning to feel his feet again! Granted, it was the pain of severe pins and needles plus rat bites and rocks that he was feeling, but Jack would be relieved once he could use his feet again.


	5. The Quest

The New Tribe

Disclaimer: I do not own the Rise of the Guardians universe

Author's Note: I enjoy puns, but the ones that I added were mostly accidental.

* * *

Chapter 5: The Quest

Jack tenses as Spoot's grip becomes stronger as they approach what seems to be a farmer's sheep shed. Jack tries to wriggle a little, but finds himself flying through the air and crash-landing in a fortunately tall hay pile rather than against the wall.

"...And I score!" Mr. Spoot snickers quietly. Jack would have glared at his kidnapper except for the fact that Jack had landed face-first into the hay. The landing had scratched Jack's face up, but it the itchiness wasn't too bad... in comparison with an arm being broken. "Just in time for the storm to start up in earnest." Mr. Smoot noticed, pleased as the rain started falling harder than before.

Jack grunted as he felt himself being pulled out of the mini haystack. His brown eyes glared daggers of defiance at Smoot as he dangled in the air. _This had to be the worst part of weighing so little_, Jack thought.

"Now...you used to be a shepherd's boy right?" Smoot sneered at the fourteen-yr-old. _What did that have to do with anything? _Jack wondered. Not answering fast enough for the tall man, Smoot smacked the boy. Jack's anger sparked into an inferno, pushing away his fear and refused to reply.

"Doesn't matter. You won't be eating or sleeping inside until you bring back a sheep. To help you, I will even remove the bindings around your hands and the gag."

_Why would I want to be inside or return? I want to escape! _Jack thought. As if reading Jack's mind, Smoot smiled teasingly, making Jack's stomach flip-flop uneasily, "Oh, did I not tell you? This is my old partner's farm. He's got quite vicious guard dogs." It was probably a good thing Jack didn't have anything left in his stomach as the boy swallowed.

* * *

A drop of rain landing on Aster's nose broke his complete focus on the trail. His hackles raised as he scanned his surroundings for enemies. When no enemies were revealed, Aster tried to follow Jack's faint scent as far as he could before it faded away. "No!" Bunny growled in frustration.

"Bunny, over there!" North pointed with his saber at something in the distance.

"Cut it out with the rain, ya uncoordinated inept excuse! We're trying to save a kid's life!" Bunny shouted at the rain sprite.

"Sorry, no can do. This area need rain right now, orders and all that." The large raindrop with liquid limbs said with false sympathy.

"From who? You can't just delay for an hour or two?" Bunny growled.

"Normally yes, but Rocio sends the Guardians a 'pouring' greeting. Since he couldn't bring your 'downfall' himself." The sprite snickered.

"That arrogant summer-storm spirit!" Bunny snarled, throwing his boomerangs. The water-made messenger dissipated in one hit, becoming a large puddle before joining the falling harder raindrops.

North grasped Bunny's shoulder, a dark gleam in his eyes, "Rocio will pay for his interference with business of Guardians later. Come, we have boy to find."

* * *

Later, as the two soaked land-bound Guardians searched the dark forest... the rain stopped, if only for a few moments...

"Hey! Watch where you step, you large, limbering, lagomorph!" A voice yelled at Bunny, "That was my lettuce lunch!"

Bunny blinked as he spotted the small creature he had nearly stepped on, "Who are you?"

"I am Lalem, some distant relation to the famous blue Absolem! However... he's no longer a caterpillar, while I still am." the young talking caterpillar pouted.

"Okay... Have you seen a man with a pet rat come by here with a white-haired boy?" Bunny asked, trying to be polite with his very strained patience.

"Or a man with long box on cart?" Bunny looked at North suspiciously. Was North keeping something from him?

"How do people come up with things like that!" exasperated worm.

"...so..."

"Nope. I'm a small talking green worm, do you really think I pay attention?"

"Have you seen anything recently?"

"Yep, the dirt, the trees, the rain, hmm...oh! And a black horse with claws!"

"A nightmare!" North bellowed in alarm.

"Yes...It had something to do with a rabbit not having the decency to eat my food rather than step on it!" Lalem pointed (with several hands) at the Easter Bunny.

"Looky here, mate. We are trying to keep a boy safe, so tell us what you saw about that horse!" Bunny demanded.

"Ooh! You're on a quest! There's not enough of those around, in my opinion, but that be because of the high mortality rates of the heroes!" Lalem cheered as he switched topics.

"..." North and Bunny looked at the other.

"Oh! Don't worry! If the hero survives the quest, he'll just die later!" Lalem apparently had quite the morbid humor, although... he didn't seem to be joking.

"So vhat has nightmare in woods?" North prompted, eyes at ground level with the future butterfly, North's nose larger than the grub.

"Oh you mean the Booger-y-man?" Lalem asked casually,

"Pitch was here?!" Bunny demanded, not wasting any time laughing like North was.

"Nah, just his horses. Just goes to show how impatient he is, if he can't hold his horses!"

"...That was a really bad pun." Bunny deadpanned.

"Was funny, no?" North chuckled, hitting Bunny on the back with a heavy hand.

"We don't have time for this! If Pitch is involved in this mess somehow, we need to stop him soon!" _Before he finds out about Jack_, Bunny added privately.

"We call Tooth or Sandy soon then." North assured the Pooka.

"Well good day, come back sometime if you survive!" The caterpillar huffed as the two Guardians walked away, "How rude. No goodbye or apology? I never!" Then a perfect autumn leaf settled just in front of Lalem, "Ahh! Lunch!"


	6. The City

The New Tribe

Disclaimer: I do not own the Rise of the Guardian's Universe

Author Note: Thanks to my reviewers and followers. I was getting a little confused with the time line so I made one. I'll post it at the end of the next chapter. As well as a character description list of the kids in the Warren.

* * *

Chapter 6: The City

For any novice, the task that Spoot had demanded would have been near impossible in the rain. Fortunately for Jack, he was no novice, but while he was raised with a shepherd's crock in hand, getting sheep to follow a stranger was still difficult. Jack stumbled and slipped on the muddy ground as he carried a young ewe. His heart followed his stomach's prior downfall into an unseen ravine as the sound of dog-wolves howled way too close for comfort. Jack had no problem with the other ewes that were following him, but the dogs that circled them only convinced Jack that they were herding him as well. He didn't dare run for it.

Spoot looked like he had just finished eating something warm, based on the fire and bowl in his hand. Jack dared not look enviously at the fire or food as Spoot would surely tease him or punish him. Still, as Jack shivered and shook, settling the young ewe down on the dirt floor, the completely chilled child couldn't help but glance at the fire.

"So you made it back Albino? Look a little wet there. Did you see the dogs?" Spoot looked way too smug.

Jack dared not answer. While he had tried to drink some of the rainwater, despite the fact that Jack knew that it would just lower his temperature further, and eat some wild plants, the shepherd's boy was still very thirsty and hungry. If he said anything, the changes of getting something to strengthen himself was basically nothing. He had tried to escape once, but then three wild-looking dogs had driven him back. They didn't attack... but certainly looked prepared to do so.

"Catch!" Jack looked up, eyes widening as an egg hurtled toward him. By some manner of great fortune, Jack managed to catch the egg without it exploding or slipping. "That's your dinner, along with any milk you managed to get from that ewe." Spoot pointed at a random ewe, throwing a thin, battered metal plate with curved edges at Jack, who caught it but then it slipped through his fingers. Jack nodded at the man in careful acknowledgment, cautious as he cracked the egg with trembling fingers. He added a little milk from the ewe with some raspy pleading and mixed the two ingredients with a couple of his fingers. Keeping an eye on Spoot, who seemed to be practicing knots, but could potentially decide to ruin his meal at any point. Jack winced when sparks hit his hands as he struggled to keep his food cooking without spilling. Eventually Jack had basic scrambled egg, something he hadn't had in months. Jack hurriedly ate it all as Spoot began to move.

Jack cowered against the wall as the knotted rope suddenly looked less innocent. He raised his hands to defend his face, but was surprised when he was yanked by his leg towards the stronger individual. His leg was dropped as Spoot moved back to a newly set up hammock. Jack blinked, surprised that he hadn't been hurt. The boy looked at his leg, scowling in dismay as an impossible set of knots, just as bad as any chain, anchored the white-haired shepherd's son to a metal pole near Spoot's resting location. Spoot's smug laughter echoed in his ears as Jack tried to loosen the knots.

"You're mean." Jack grumbled childishly under his breath when his heart rate returned to normal. Jack's air deserted him as Spoot only laughed harder, dread crossing the boy's face as Mr. Spoot suddenly stopped chortling and stared into Jack's brown eyes.

"Oh no, Jack. I'm harmless in compared with real mean people. At least I have a conscious." Jack watched Spoot explain, "I'm not cruel for any odd reason. It's simply for tradition and the money."

That... didn't really assure Jack. It would explain why Spoot fed the kids the bare minimum he felt he could get away with and even so, half of what they were fed was basically free. "Tradition?" Jack asked hesitantly.

Spoot snorted, kicking back into the hammock, "Just be glad I'm not handing you over to my old partner. While I enjoy a little fear, even retired, my old partner nicknamed 'Basebat' was taught by fear itself."

"Then where are we going?" Jack softly questioned, flinching when Smoot opened his eyes.

"Like I'm going to tell you." Spoot jeered, "Go to sleep Albino."

While Spoot snored on, Jack sighed miserable in his damp clothes (the sheeps' wool not being much better) as he continued to halfheartedly pick at the threads in the rope.

"Just think of Emma and the others. Remember your promise to Pippa." Jack tried to cheer himself up. It wasn't very successful, as his eyes watered more than once. Without an audience, even a pretend one, it was hard to put his mask of cheerful determination on. He buried his sniffles into his folded arms. _I hope they were saved by the Pooka._

* * *

"How far avay did Spook get?" North sighed, a little puzzled, "Even with sleigh on rollers, mortals don't travel this far in little time."

Bunny's eyes lit up, "Time! How much time did Spoot have? The trail was very faint, a lot more than a few hours older than the building fire." What Bunny wasn't saying, was that it was only because he was once a ranger Pooka that he could even smell Jack's scent. It was a thin, nearly invisible string of a trail. He was fortunate that the wind hadn't snapped that string. If he had noticed before, Bunny would have even thanked the wind for seemingly helping him go the right direction. "North, did you hear anything in that town that could tell us where Spoot was heading or how long he'd be gone?"

"Possible village named Burgess, maybe. But if Jack is still alive then Spoot not going there."

Bunny stilled at North's 'if', "Jack is alive! He has to be alive!"

North hastily calmed the Pooka down, "Just rumors from town, mostly odd."

"Well, where's a map, mate?"

(line break)

"Hah! Look at that." Bunny pointed to the city of Burgess, "It's in the direction of when we lost the trail in the rain and then the night. But on a road division, there's a major city in between the town where we were coming from. Traveling, as fast as mortals can, it would take two to three days to reach the city from the town."

"So... portal to city?" North tried to seem innocent.

"Not on your coat sleeves, mate." Bunny looked unimpressed, "I'm going to follow the road, just in case Spoot's not going to the city. At the city, before kids wake is a good time to call either Sandy or Tooth for help search'n the place."

"Meet you in short time then, Bunny." North looked faintly disappointed but left shortly after.

"Nothing's faster than a Pooka." A large smirk from the Guardian of Hope and then he was gone, dust settling on the road again.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Warren...

"Is she gone?" Josh whispered, the nine-year-old poking his head out from behind a bush.

"I think so..." Caleb's head popped out of the bush, followed by his brother on the other side of the bush.

"My mouth hasn't ever felt this clean before..." Claude inserted a finger into his mouth, touching each really well brushed, flossed, and rinsed baby teeth.

"...It's weird!" the brown-eyed, black-haired twins looked at each other and chorused.

"Hide! It's one of _her_ minions!" Josh squeaked as he ducked back into the bush. The twins quickly obeyed, hiding in the leaves.

(line break)

"Ready or not, here I come!" The brown-black haired six-year-old giggled as she came out from behind a tree.

Helen found Tyke first, "Aww," the blonde haired boy, also a six-year-old pouted.

"You can help me find the others." Helen offered, both knowing that this was a big deal!

"Ok." Tyke nodded, smiling. He shuffled over and whispered in Helen's eye, "Tree."

"Which one?" Helen whispered back.

Tyke carefully pointed at the tree next to his hollow log, "Shh."

The six-year-olds carefully tip-toed to the tree trunk, before struggling to pull each other onto the lowest branch. Triumphantly, they cautiously clung to the branch that was only slightly higher.

"Found you Willow!" Helen pointed in excitement.

"So you did! Oh!" Willow exclaimed as the two nearly slipped of the lower branch. "Be careful." Willow gently scolded them as she hurriedly caught the startled youngsters, hanging upside down. She lightly lowered them to the grass below and scampered down to their level. She was relieved that Helen and Tyke had only been startled and were easily distracted by the game instead of crying. She watched, nearly cooing as one blonde-haired, green-eyed boy held the hand of the brown-black haired and dark-blue-eyed girl while they 'seeked' for Emma and Kristopher.

(line break)

"Help us Thad!" one nine-year-old and two eight-year-olds shrieked as they ran into and then clung to the older boy's leg. "_She_ found us!"

The Tooth Fairy laughed as she and a few of her helpers zoomed toward them. At first playing with the kids had been awkward for Tooth, but now the children were fairly comfortable with her as she tickled their feet with a feather. The twins and Josh were quite daunted of how many times she had insisted that they brush their teeth and then she rattled of a list of what would happen if they didn't take care of their teeth. (So were the other kids, but they weren't playing hide and tickle wars with Tooth and a few of her lieutenants).

(line break)

Ever since all the orphans had woken in the Warren from a nap with pleasant dreams, little Lana had been trailing after the Sandman. While wearing Jack's old hoodie (even though it was larger than her), Lana had been imitating all the Sandman's expressions. She went as far as to try and copy Sandman's sand by drawing in the dirt of the egg gardens. Sandy found it fun and started to play charades with her. Not too far away, Tyke and Helen found and proceeded to pounce on Emma.

* * *

The city designated as 'Philmark' seemed destined to disappeared. The 'city' was no bigger than most towns with a population of (at most) approx. six thousand personages. At one point it had about ten thousand personages living there, but most were temporary of a couple of years. The 'city' was large, but not well kept. People with an option moved out to farmland or to other members of their family.

Spoot's large hand clutching Jack's arm kept the boy from running away. Well, that and the rope around Jack's leg tied to the horse pulling a cart of last season fruit and vegtables. As part of Spoot's 'traditions', Spoot had cut off the sleeve of Jack's hoodie while the boy was still wearing it, asleep. Spoot had proceeded to hit Jack awake with the thin material. Once awake, Spoot made a deliberate cut on Jack's sleeveless arm and soaked the the sweatshirt sleeve with the spilling blood before the blood clotted. Dizzy by the blood loss, Jack watched with a queasy stomach as Spoot tied the bloody rag to one of the guard dogs. Unable to focus, Jack may have blacked out, waking up as his limp body was settled into the passenger's side of a second cart. The first cart with the basic coffin was left at the 'Basebat's' farm, while the shorter second cart held unsold farmed goods. While they traveled into the city center, the autumn rain that had lasted through most of the night was becoming tiny hail drops mixed with an early slushy snow.

Jack shivered as some of the out-of-season cold fell from a tree onto his head. Brushing it off, Jack looked up. The sun's rays were beginning to pierce through the clouds, melting the snowfall. Within the hour, the clouds would probably clear up. Jack scanned his surroundings, not too surprised that people were already up and moving. People had to eat and so opened their businesses in all but the most dangerous weather. (Sometimes even then if they were that desperate).

Last time Jack had entered Philmark city, it had been right after his parents' and most of their flocks' deaths. He and Emma had been escorted to the orphanage, only to be told that the orphanage was full. However, there was one in the nearby town... and it had snowballed from there into Jack's current situation.

"LOOKY OUT!" Someone screamed as a carriage horse spooked and bolted. Spoot's eyes widened in alarm and anger as the carriage slammed into the cart, causing Spoot's own horse to bolt. In the ensuing chaos of the farmer cart flipping, Jack's shoulder was dislocated and the rope around his leg snapped. Spoot, as soon as he could stand, started yelling and ranting at the other driver.

"This was my last crop of the season!"

A local Watchman halted Spoot before he could get to the other driver, "Calm down, sir. Everything will be sorted soon."

"Farmer! Here's your horse." Another man eventually led the normally docile mare back to Mr. Spoot.

Spoot gruffly thanked the stranger, and then discovered something and made up a story, railing again at the other driver, "You caused my nephew to run off! He's already frightened of carts, you didn't need to make the memory of his parent's death even more scarring!"

"That's enough sir. Let's all go to the station and you can file a complaint farmer." The Watchman scowled

Sam, the man who returned Spoot's horse volunteered, "I'll go look for your nephew! What's his name and appearance?" But Spoot never answered as the other driver, fined for 'driving under the influence' clocked the lopsided eared man out, shouting,

"The Spook!"

* * *

"North's calling for back up." Tooth took a break from playing and informed Sandy, about to leave,

"Wait! How are they?" Thaddeus stopped her just in time,

"North's searching Philmark the city just in case Spoot somehow dragged Jack that far. Bunny's searching on the road if they didn't go that far."

"If they did make it as far as Philmark city, look for the Underground." Emma pleaded

"The Underground?"

"It's where runaways and street kids hide. Jack knows where it is, but all I remember is something about the back the baker's shop."

"Thank you Emma." Tooth flew off, leaving Sandy and the kids to figure out his question,

"...How does Jack know about it then?" Thaddeus eventually put the clues together

"He got lost in the city once. Our... parents hardly let him leave the village after that."

"Sandy? Do you know what time it is?" Thaddeus asked, partially to distract Emma, but also because he really wanted to know.

Sandy nodded, making a sun begin to rise over a circle and repeated it.

"The sun is... peeking out from behind a rock?" Emma guessed

Sandy replaced the circle with a mountain, "It's morning?" Thaddeus asked. Upon receiving Sanderson's thumbs up, Thaddeus smiled, "...so about six hours left before we become Pooka?"

* * *

Jack shivered violently as he scraped ice with his fingertips off of bricks behind the bakery. Eventually, Jack was able to get a grip and lift the heavy iron lid leading to the swamp overflow pipes.

After turning around a few twists and curves, crawling, getting lost a few times, backtracking, and going forward again, nearly an ice cube himself, Jack found the Underground. He stumbled a little as the other strangers began to move, leading him to a fire.


	7. The Underground

The New Tribe

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians universe

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has read this far. Hope you enjoyed it so far. Timeline notes and Character descriptions are at the bottom

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Chapter 7: The Underground

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It was a dingy, dripping, dreary environment, but it was the first chance that Jackson Overland, a skinny malnourished twig of a boy, had to rest and relax in what felt like forever. Had it really been only been a day or two? Slowly, as adrenalin began to drain and the fire, combined with a potato bread soup, began to warm his insides, Jack sneezed. Blisters, scraped skin and day-old splinters were bleeding, the smaller injuries seemingly causing more pain than his plentiful bruises or throbbing shoulder. Jack knew Spoot could have harmed him more and it made Jack ill to think about.

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"Jack? Is that you?" a small hand tried to wipe off some dirt and mud out of Jack's hair. It was a futile effort, but the white-haired (currently muddy-haired) lad was very relieved to hear a familiar voice.

"Pippa?" He croaked. Jack's trembling became full body shudders and then outright sobs. Someone rescued his meager meal and handed it over to a tall (for a barely ten year old) girl, who set it near the flickering flames. She smiled, ragged reddish brown hair sticking to her face as she hugged the tired youth tightly. The fourteen-year-old clung tightly to his friend-almost-sister.

"I'm here, Jack. You found me." Pippa soothed before looking meaningfully at someone behind Overland's shoulders, ordering, "Mathew, hand me that blanket please, he's too pale."

"I was always pale." Jack weakly tried to joke, trying to regain his composure.

"But not this frost bitten." Pippa's mouth thinned as she examined the fortunately still working fingers, "You need to stay near the fire for a while to thaw out."

"You're okay?" Jack's voice quivered.

"Yes, I'm okay. You, however, don't look okay at all. Even during the harshest of winters, none of us were this thin." Pippa could close her thumb and forefinger around Jack's wrist, "It looks like you needed to be saved more than I did." She added with a little self-depreciation.

"Don't say that Pippa. Everyone has their struggles. Just because your dad is really sick, doesn't mean that you didn't need to be rescued. Even a smile and just noticing someone can save a person from themselves. It's hard to support a family. I know. I became the man of the house at twelve and sometimes my sister and mom would get sick too. It was probably even harder for you to find a good job that would pay or trade for food."

"Thank you, Jack." Pippa sniffled, "I missed you too. Even all the tricks you'd play and when you would take me ice skating."

"Hey, what are almost older brothers for?" Jack cheered her up.

"...a story?" Pippa shuffled shyly, "I've told the others in the Underground about you."

"Off course!" Jack brightened and glanced around. There was probably between two to three dozen kids around. (No adult, save the smallest and shortest, could fit into the Underground entrance pipes). Most were dozing in one large pile or chewing on old vegtables (some of which could have come from Mr. Spoot's cart spill earlier), "Do you want one right now?"

"In a little bit. ...We're normally out and about, and a few are, but the weather is getting colder and the lucky ones are earning money and bread. We have some food saved for the winter. It turns out that a few people in Philmark have taken refuge here at some time or another. So we have a couple warm places and help in our most desperate times." Pippa felt prompted to explain, "It's not too bad. My dad's getting better with the sale of our farm for medicine."

"So why are you in the underground?" Jack queried, "And where's your dad?"

"Jamie's mom has been taking care of dad, but I have a bakery apprenticeship in the afternoons. I sleep here during the week. With everyone huddling together, we stay warm."

"How's life back in Burgess then?"

"There's... been some trouble," Pippa sighed, "Have you heard of the Basilisk's gang?"

"Basilisk...I think it's a mythological snake... but other than that, no not really. Haven't really gotten any news about Burgess for weeks. Is it a bunch of bullies?"

"No, they're kinda a traveling kidnapping ring. They've taken most of the kids of Burgess as hostages recently. A random kid is let go when a certain amount of money is paid."

"Who was taken? How is Burgess going to pay it? Why did they do it? It's not a very rich community!" Jack hissed lowly as a spark landed on his hand, shaking it off.

"Apparently they're known for their 'constrictor' techniques. Money, why else? They stay as long as they think they can make a profit. I was lucky I was here that week." Pippa took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Jack... they still have Jamie, Sophie, Monty and Cupcake.

Contrary to what she had expected, Jack didn't blow up. Instead he stopped moving completely. Pippa was worried he might pass out if he didn't take a breath soon. "Where?" he coughed out finally.

"No Jack! No heroics! Especially in your condition!"

"But how much time do they have?"

"_Jack!_ It's amazing how much you care about others, I'm worried too! But think of Emma, doesn't she need you too! Or is she dead?!" Pippa gasped, covering her mouth.

"...no," Jack suddenly looked tired and much older as he rasped, "...she's back at the Mr. Spoot's 'Orphanage' unless she escaped with the others."

"...Escaped? Don't tell me this Mr. Spoot forces you to steal stuff. I mean, a little sometimes is necessary, but-"

"No, no. He's all 'respectable'." Jack made a face, "'Taking in those poor orphans, feeding them out of his own pocket, and putting up with such disrespectful children!'" He quoted in an 'old' voice by hiding his teeth when he spoke.

"Did you do something Jack?"

"Me? Why would you think I did something?" Jack asked with practiced innocence,

"Well..."

"His name's really Mr. Spot, but he's not harmless or respectable. He fed us very little and kept us locked up like prisoners most of the time. None of the kids in the orphanage ever get adopted or move out. They just disappear while Mr. Spot pulls the wool over the town's eyes."

"That's horrible Jack! Wait... you would never leave Emma behind willingly. Or, I'm guessing the others." Pippa sat and thought, "Did Mr. Spoot try to kill you?"

"I don't know what he was planning." Jack admitted, "I went to sleep with the others and woke up inside a box." Jack decided to omit the detail about what kind of box, "I barely got away from him this morning when we entered Philmark. It's a possibility, but I think there was something else he stood to gain."

/

After an awkward pause in the conversation, Pippa grasped at straws to distract Jack from any foolish ideas about heroics or any depressed thoughts about Emma stuck at the orphanage, "So... a story? I'll wake the others up." Depression really didn't suit Jack, Emma thought as her friend's face brightened. She pushed the stew back into his hands.

"Sure!" Jack knew what she was doing, but went along with it. And as tired, interested, or bored eyes and ears focused on him, Jack relaxed and began, "Long ago, the Call of the Pooka was common knowledge. But as time went on, that knowledge was lost...the Call of the Pooka was for..." Many faces were skeptical, while others were fascinated. Jack animated his story, ignoring the lethargy and chill weighing down into his bones.

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Mince, Mr. Spoot's scarily smart pet rat chewed through the bindings holding Mr. Spoot in the jail cell, awaiting for the justice to judge his case. Not long in after the 'Farmer' had been brought in, word of the fire in the orphanage had arrived. Mr. Spot went from being someone with a complaint to an accused murderer. Mr. Spoot knew he was innocent of those particular charges, but more suspicion had been brought upon him by the person who had bailed out the drunkard who had crashed his cart. Dangerous suspicion linking him to his criminal past and present if the members of the watch were smart enough and had enough witnesses.

Still an unknown, Mr. Spot only had the ropes around his wrist and the bars on the doors keeping him from freedom. Mr. Spoot scoffed as he thanked Mince. As if that would stop him, retired criminal or not. He had to flee though, cutting his losses with the albino. It was looking as if he would have to start anew... or rejoin the Basilisk's gang. 'Basebat' was no longer in charge of the group, but Mr. Spot would be remembered, especially with his signature black pet rat. It had been an experimented-on gift from Basebat's teacher. Mr. Spoot hadn't seen the man of course, but it had come through 'Basebat' and Mr. Spoot had kept it ever since. It supposedly didn't need food, as it was supposed to feed on fear, but Mr. Spoot fed it anyway. It was probably one of the main reasons it had stuck around Mr. Spoot for so long, being fed with fear and food.

The Watch's security seemed a little lax for daytime. Probably used to dealing with minor threats and 'complaints', not major criminals, Mr. Spoot smirked as he slipped out of the Watch's building around lunchtime. He headed for the city limits. He had a stop to make.

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Aster had found the trail again! The muddy tracks had been slightly different, so Bunny backtracked to double check the starting point. While the rain blocked the scent in the wind, it did not hide the flat cart resting at the bottom of the hill. Planning to pop back up on the road, he was taken by surprise when snarling dog-wolves attacked. Unfortunately for the dogs, the master of Tai Chi (and master of several other kinds of defense/offense), Bunny laid them out flat in very little time for a very long time. The wind brought wisps of Jack's scent to Aster and Bunny chased the clues uphill. As he approached a sheep shed, Jack's scent grew slightly stronger. It wasn't hard to piece the main pieces together after that. A recently used and folded hammock with a stranger's scent, highly likely that it was Mr. Spoot, and a muddy corner in the hay, not made by any sheep, holding the strongest scent that Bunny had been able to find that belonged to Jack so far. They slept here and switched carts the next day. But they shouldn't have been able to travel this far in less than twelve hours. Somehow, Mr. Spoot had more time. Bunny glanced about and tapped the ground, once again on the road following the new tracks that the rain couldn't completely cover. Although Rocio seemed determined to try as the temperature dropped and hail crashed into the earth, making it hard to see the lines. But Bunny didn't need to see them completely, he just needed enough to know if he was heading in the right direction. With the temperature drop and full clouds, the skies began to rain slushy snow.

But, not too long after, the skies began to clear up. An autumn spirit must have caught up with Rocio, who was mostly a summer spirit. That said, that wouldn't stop the Guardians from giving Rocio a lesson sometime later.

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North had not liked the stories the city folk were telling about the kidnapping gang stealing children from their homes in Burgess. It didn't seem like the work of Pitch, necessarily. Manny would have told them. It could just be bad mortals and wandering nightmares. But the feeling in his gut said Pitch was behind the kidnappings, even if it wasn't like him to work with or behind mortals. North was reminded as he spotted an urchin, running down an alley, that not even the man on the moon could see into the shadows. North found himself following the child and watching as the youngster disappeared into a pipe way too thin for North's girth. But... North wasn't Santa Claus for nothing. It was bigger than some chimneys and keyholes at least.

Tooth darted about the city, searching for North and any sign of an 'Underground'. Baby Tooth found North first as he was eying an open city pipe. Baby Tooth squeaked, pulling on his beard. "Ah! Tooth has arrived yes?"

Baby Tooth nodded, squeaking inquisitively.

"Tell her I have not found boy, but my gut tells me I should follow child below. Child needing some Christmas wonder."

Baby Tooth was grateful for her mother's mind link connection to each of her fairies as she dove into North's pocket, just as a gigantic North somehow zoomed through the small cement tunnel.

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In the privacy of his layer, Pitch was pacing in agitation in front of his throne. "What are the Guardians doing in Philmark!" A nightmares nickered, "They're searching? For what? The kidnapped children?"

There was no answer, "Well then find out!" Pitch ordered. He wasn't quite ready to give up on his manufactured sources of fear.

A predatory smirk graced the Pooka's lips as Bunny smelled Mr. Spoot close by, running. The man would pay for messing with Jack. But first he would have to be visible and tangible.

North... had not expected to be pounced on by the pre-teen. The almost teenager... had not expected North.

"Who are you? And …_how_ on earth did you get down here with that waistline?" The girl blurted.

"I am Nicholas St. North. My belly is very jolly indeed." North cheerfully announced, back on his feet, setting the bewildered female back on her feet.

"Who?"

"Also as known Father Christmas-"

The girl's nose scrunched up incredulously, "You're Father Christmas?! If that's true, what are you doing in a sewer, following me of all people? Do you do reconnaissance or something before going out in December?"

"Ah... I bring wond-"

"You have the Tooth Fairy in your pocket?! Excuse my rudeness, I've gone round the bend." The girl fainted.

"Now look at you Baby Tooth, causing child to faint." North scolded the fairy, who looked up at him unimpressed, "You should have introduced yourself first."

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Bunny dusted his hands off, depositing a new terrified (and ironically, feeling hopeless) believer of human sized bunnies into the angry Watch's hands. With his attempt to run off and new-found evidence, Mr. Smoot trial would be very short, as everything Mr. Spot hoped was never revealed was revealed to the Judge and Jury.

Bunny was drawing closer to finding Jack as there was nothing slowing him down now.

Unnoticed, Mince the nightmarish rat scurried off to find it's creator.

Baby Tooth squeaked as she drew a bunny in the dirt.

"Ah, Bunny's here." North leaned back, satisfied that the child would be okay, surrounded by picnic baskets of food and blankets. Girl was really too thin. "Coming?" North asked the fairy, who shook her head, settling down to wait for the child to wake up.

"To Bunny!" North threw the snow globe, and entered the portal to regroup with the other three Guardians.

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Back in the Warren:

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"It's almost time!" Josh whispered, but his voice carried throughout Bunny's Warren in the anticipatory silence. The ten children had gathered close to where they had landed at Bunny's feet almost twenty-four hours ago.

As the twenty-four hours came to a close, three bells from nowhere reverberated in the hollow warren, "Bong...Bong...Bong!"

The almost sentient magic in the Call of the Pooka made the air of Spring's warren dance in excitement. Simultaneously, each willing (and slightly nervous,) child was wrapped with blankets of air mixed with the flora pulled up from the warren. Eventually, the magic calmed down and revealed Pooka kits in the place of the children, the magic rustling in the fur.

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Thaddeus blinked his still hazel eyes as he twisted his head to examine his new fur coat, catching glimpses of the others. He was smaller than he had been, but he was still larger than any of the others. He had a tan coat with reddish-orange fur outlining his front side and a solid black coat on his back. He watched, fascinated as dark sunset orange-red lines started making patterns.

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Willow probed her new blonde-auburn fur, a bright echo of what her ash-reddish hair as a human had been. She wasn't sure if she liked the change yet, but was sure that she would grow into it. She looked closer and blinked as reddish-orange markings began doodling over her new coat. Looking up, she gaped at Sandy who was now taller than she was! Well... if he wasn't floating.

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Kristopher quickly ran over to the nearest source of clear water, subconsciously noticing how much faster he was. It would have been normal to stare at his new muzzle, but having avoided mirrors as much as possible for years, Kristopher was more interested in how his new brown fur, tipped in white, covered the large red scars that he thought would never fade. Cautiously, Kristopher poked the water to see if his reflection would change. It did. Startled, Kristopher looked at himself and watched black lines slowly become jagged bolts of lighting and clouds across his brown pelt. Looking at where Thaddeus and Willow were standing, Kristopher was relieved to see that the trailing patterns of markings was happening to them too, even if the shapes the lines formed were all different.

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Emma had her eyes closed, but her ears were swiveled about at attention. She had heard something while the magic in the Pooka Call changed her and was listening attentively to the music in the magic. She was relaxed, lounging in the grass dressed in a solid brown pelt. She could hear the faint strokes in the music, that, unbeknownst to Emma, were tickling her fur with the faintest auburn markings that would become darker in time.

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Josh was currently freaking out about his bunny tail, his height, his bunny tail, his ears, did he mention that he had a tail! He ignored the fact that he now had solid red-orange fur and larger ears and continued shrieking, silently poking, or trying to run from his new fluffy limb. Sandy couldn't keep from shaking in laughter while watching Josh.

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Caleb and Claude blinked at each other. Both of them had new shiny completely black pelts. Caleb's fur was a lot more unruly though. It looked like he had static electricity keeping his fur fluffed out. And... somehow, Claude's red beanie was still sitting on his head between his newly extended ears, while his other clothes had vanished when replaced by fur.

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Helen... wriggled in the grass, dark blue eyes having become purple narrowed at her target. She pounced! And all three sneaky pounds of herself knocked the painted googlie over. She purred, startling herself as she looked suspiciously around for the source of the sound. Satisfied no one was interrupting her game, she hid herself in a bush. Her brown-blue/gray fur blended in quite nicely she thought as she waited for the next googlie to come by.

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Tyke sneezed, blowing himself over. When he had righted himself, he kept his hands (now front paws) on the ground. Tyke gently hopped forward. Meeting success, he began bouncing happily... and then fell over. Sneezing again at the new number of things he could smell infinitely better, Tyke stumbled on his hind paws. Hopping forward again, he bumped and tumbled into Willow. She laughed and lowered herself to the ground, nudging the tiny mostly gray (with blonde highlights) puffball that Tyke had become. Tyke's eyes shot open and he began bouncing in front of Willow, looking back often for reassurance. Willow would smile (without teeth, new instincts beginning to influence them). Willow marveled at how Tyke's formerly bright green eyes became a neon green edged with electric blue on the rims of his iris.

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Little Lana's ears kept flopping over her eyes. Irritated, she kept trying to push them back or better yet up! But then her ears would just flop over again! Her formerly hazel eyes were now a pulsating dark green and blue as she verbally scolded her limp ears. Her fur was completely strawberry blonde with the exception of a small blotch of green on the tip of her left ear.

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There were now ten new young Pooka in a galaxy that had not seen more than one Pooka in a very long time.

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Timeline notes:

The kids were drugged.

**Next Day**: The kids were asleep (the drug affected them stronger with their weakened bodies- but the kids don't know that they slept for a day and a half)

**2nd Day**: Asleep for half a day

Other kids: wake and call for the Pooka (afternoon)

Jack: wake and dumped out (evening)

Then: North and Bunny go after Jack (evening)

Night: Rain, darkness and unknown factor delays Guardians. (They don't know about the day the kids were asleep so they don't know how far Jack really is).

**3rd Day**: Jack escapes from Spoot in crowd after distraction in city. (morning)

Bunny refinds the trail/ North and Tooth in Philmark city (morning)

Jack makes his way into the Underground (noon-ish): he's beginning to be sick

Bunny finds Spoot (early afternoon)

The other kids become Pooka (afternoon)

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Character Descriptions:

Information within parentheses contains either more detail or potential (as in not mentioned in the story necessarily) fear if they were to come across Pitch

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The first 10 (Oldest to youngest):

Thaddeus-age 15, hazel eyes, not best storyteller, scared by people getting sick, leader after Jack

Pooka coat: tan coloring= reddish-orange on front and black on back and darker orange/red for markings

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Willow- age 13, ash-reddish hair, shy, doesn't like nick-names, hidden (slow) temper, (fear of needles), grey eyes

Pooka coat: blonde-auburn fur with reddish-orange markings

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Kristopher/Kurt- age 12, facial scars, hatred of robbers, fear of rejection and so blusters, (fear of becoming blind),

Pooka coat: brown fur tipped in white with black lightning/cloud markings

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Emma- age 11, brown hair, brown eyes, (fear of her brother dying)

Pooka coat: solid brown fur (almost invisible auburn markings) that changes to white (with black tips) during winter (almost invisible grey markings)

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Josh- age 9, (fear of puppets)

Pooka coat: solid red-orange fur, too young for markings

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Caleb- age 8, brown eyes, black hair, hair combed back, (fear of snakes)

Pooka coat: solid black fur, too young for markings

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Claude- age 8, brown eyes, black hair, red beanie, (fear of becoming bald)

Pooka coat: solid black fur, too young for markings

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Helen- age 6, dark blue eyes, brown-black hair, (afraid of rats)

Pooka coat: purple eyes, brown-blue grey fur, too young for markings

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Tyke- age 6, green eyes, blonde hair, (afraid of bees/rats), a lot of energy but doesn't talk much (speech impediment as well as quiet inclination),

Pooka coat: neon green edged with electric blue eyes, gray fur with blonde highlights, too young for markings

\/

Lana- age 5, hazel eyes, (afraid of rats/ ), straight foreward and blunt, not shy, uses Jack's old hoodie as a pillow and blanket,

Pooka coat: dark green and blue eyes, strawberry blonde fur (tiny green paintmark on ear became permenant), too young for markings

/

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Additional Characters:

Pippa- pt of the Underground (escaped with help of Monty's older brother) Brown eyes, Reddish Brown hair, white cap, green sweater, green and white scarf. Jamie's best friend. In this story she is barely 10. Jack sees her as a younger sister.

Cupcake- kidnapped by Pitch. A large boned girl, brown eyes/hair. In this story she is 9.

Monty- kidnapped by Pitch. He has glasses, blue eyes, blonde hair. Next door neighbor to Pippa. In this story he is 8.

Jamie- kidnapped by Pitch. Smaller sized than his friends, brown hair/eyes. In this story he is 9.

Sophie- kidnapped by Pitch. Blonde hair, green eyes. In this story she is 3.

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Mr. Spot aka Mr. Spoot:

Appearance- tiny nose, crooked ears, and tall. Usually better dressed and fed than the average person

Motivation- Monetary and Traditions (that his old partner 'Basebat' and he used to do to scare kids)

Self-justification- "I have morals; I don't smoke, swear, or drink (much) and I could have done much worse." and comparison, "Now my partner... he was a piece of work- still is if he's still alive. He loved fear more than the common man's drink"

Background- slightly educated, youngest in banker family, knows how to budget and save. Didn't get any family money, gained it all from criminal activity and 'running' an orphanage. Slightly superstitious, a not quite believer in Pitch.


	8. The Discovery

The New Tribe

Disclaimer: I do not own the Rise of the Guardian Universe.

Author's note: It was really hard to come up with a chapter name for some reason.

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Chapter 8: The Discovery

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"What news from the Warren, Tooth?" North asked as he strode out of a portal.

"G'day mates." Bunny popped out of a hole, looking pleased, "Spoot won't be running from the Law anymore."

"Did you find Jack then?" Tooth asked excitedly. She wanted to meet the child who was adored by the other children in the Warren.

Bunny's ears drooped slightly, "Not yet, but I've got a strong lead on his scent. He's in the city."

"As I was leaving the Warren, Emma said to look for the Underground. Jack would have gone there when he made it away from Spoot."

"Vhy there?" North asked, although he had a feeling he knew.

"It's where kids without a home live," Tooth softly replied.

"I know place to start! But you and Bunny won't fit. Here's snow globe if Baby Tooth finds it first." North passed a snow globe to the Tooth Fairy. Bunny grimaced but flicked an ear in acceptance. In order to travel to a specific place immediately, you had to either have been there first or be guided there (usually by job- for example, a lost tooth would pull a tooth fairy in that direction). Had Sandy been with them, they would have arrived as soon as someone dreamed. But until one of those kids went to sleep, Sandy wouldn't have been able to find them either. As it was the afternoon, Aster couldn't imagine a kid wanting to go to sleep this early unless they were sick.

Thinking momentarily of Sandy led to thoughts about the kids who would soon become Pookas. While he had a 'family' in the Guardians, it just wasn't the same. The Guardians were currently more of comrades and friends than a family. Aster hoped he could have tighter family ties again.

Watching North leave, Bunny shook his head and made sure Tooth was paying attention when he shot off. Tooth's eyes and hands kept twitching to get back in the field again, wondering why she had ever stopped. Fortunately, while the Queen couldn't really keep up with the Pooka in a race, she could fly and the wind was in her favor.

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The black rat named Mince scuttled up to the Nightmare King's foot. Ever aware of his own creations, Pitch looked down.

"Well, well, I haven't seen you in a while, Mince. What news do you have for me?" Pitch inquired, picking up the shadowy rat, "Do you know what has the Guardians in a fuss?" Pitch petted the tiny clawed creature.

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A young sick child shivered, being woken up by another child. The ill child lit up when his friend, Mathew, told him that Jack, the storyteller, was here and about to tell a story. Unseen, the sick child's nightmare slowly formed in the shadows, watching and feeding off of the wisps of fear from the crowd of children. As the story went on the wisps of fear faded before beginning to come back.

The tales of the Pooka sounded too good to be true and everyone who lived in the Underground knew that there was always a catch behind golden lines. But it was nice to pretend there were none.

"Jack, there is always something that the fae do in exchange. Whether it's leaving behind a changeling when stealing a child, or making time pass by oddly." Pippa pointed out, when she couldn't bear to encourage any more false hope in the children younger or sicker than her.

Jack sighed, before holding back a sneeze, "Can't some of the fae just be really good?", but thinking about it anyway, "What could the Pooka want?... They might find it hard to have kids and kids are special to those without..." His almost sneeze disappeared.

The ill child, known as Noah, coughed before whispering in Mathew's ear. Mathew spoke up, "Maybe in the trade... when the parent wished their child away, they have twenty-four hours to try and get them back before they become the children of the Pooka, right?"

Jack nodded, "Yes they have a day to get them back if it was an accident." The kids who had experiences with kind parents understood, while the kids with none (or less than kind) struggled to understand, frowning. Seeing their confusion, Jack explained, "In even the best of families, there's arguments, but after the heat of the anger passes, they try to reconcile and make up. Because they all care about the others." The children looked among each other, agreeing when they realized the Underground was a family of sorts.

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In the shadows a second nightmare joined the first in watching the children. The second quietly communicated a question in a twisted dialect of horse. Had it been in English, the query would have been understood as something like, _The Master is looking for a white-haired boy named Jack. With a fear of claustrophobia and drowning. Have you seen a boy of that description?_ The first, newer nightmare replied in affirmative, gesturing to the storyteller. He was sitting and listening to the other children, fingers absentmindedly combing dirt out of his white locks. The nightmares could sense his hidden nervousness of his surroundings. The space was large enough that Jack didn't feel panicked, but the lack of fresh air and dark walls unnerved him. Satisfied, the slightly larger nightmare disappeared to report back to his master.

\

Noah murmured something to Mathew, which Mathew repeated to the crowd, "...So once the kids become children of the Pooka... maybe they become Pooka too."

"I'll believe that." Pippa agreed. Following her lead, several others shared their opinion too. General consensus held strong on the idea, before the other kids began discussing what a Pooka looked like. No longer in the middle of the audience, Jack enjoyed listening to the ideas as he walked among them. He crouched down when he felt a tug on his leg, staring into green eyes on a pale freckled face.

"Jack? Do you think...", the boy coughed "...if I got wished away," the boy wheezed after a stronger coughing attack. Nearby, Mathew looked alarmed at the sound.

"Whisper if it helps." Jack fretted over the younger boy, taking the blanket on his shoulders and wrapping it around the frail child, "What's your name and question?"

"...Noah. I'm gonna," Noah swallowed, and choked out, "fade away... one of these days. I don't wanna be buried in the cold and dark."

Suddenly Mathew was there, holding Noah instead of Jack, "You've been getting better!" he clutched Noah closer as if to fend off any upcoming coughing spasms. Jack felt slightly awkward, but gave his silent support as he kneeled on the floor next to them.

Noah smiled weakly up at his older cousin as he shivered, rasping, "We both know it's not... the bouts of fever and flem are... getting more frequent and harsher." Mathew looked as if he wanted very badly to deny this, but he didn't, choking back a sob. Noah turned to Jack, "...the Warren is the birth place of Spring you said."

Jack nodded, throat tight.

"If they'll let me, ...could I be buried there? Promise?" Noah trusted that his cousin and the storyteller could and would get him there if they made a promise. While Noah didn't know Jack as well as Mathew, from the stories Pippa had shared about her friends, Noah knew Jack did whatever he could to fulfill a promise.

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Around this time, the second nightmare returned with his master. Golden eyes inspected the dirty children, his eyes ending on the 'touching' scene in front of him. The Master of Fear's pupils narrowed when he spied white strands among the dirt on a bruised child. So this was the child the Guardians were searching for. Pitch wondered why they were searching for this urchin, waiting for a clue to the reason.

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Jack nodded, looking at Mathew before his gaze returned to Noah, "I, Jackson Overland, promise to do this for you."

Mathew smiled wildly, "We'll get you there, no matter what it takes!" he declared, trust growing in the white-haired boy as Jack repeated the vow, unwavering.

"We could try wishing you there now." Pippa suggested quietly. She didn't know if the Pooka were real, but Jack seemed to. Pippa knew she believed in Jack, even if her own belief in stories were fading.

Hidden hope flared in the children around them. Then they would know for themselves that the Call of the Pooka worked.

"How does the call work?" Someone quickly asked. Behind them in the darkness, Pitch frowned.

"Well... like this-"

"Wait! Send me with him." Mathew urgently demanded.

"Ok." Jack smiled reassuringly at them, "Great and Mighty Pooka please guide Noah and Mathew to your Warren!" Pitch had been shocked at first when he heard the word 'Pooka' and it set his mind racing, remembering exactly what a 'call' could do. He had fought really hard to eliminate the Pooka! As a result, there had only been one left until now. No way would he let this continue! Furious, Pitch and his army surged out of the shadows. They were too late to stop the magic from whisking away the two boys, but the other children were still here. The youngsters that could see the horses now that they were away from the shadows, shrieked in terror. Pitch relished the fear as belief in him spread rapidly. The children scattered, but before the shadows could hurt them, the cursed Easter Rabbit jumped out of a hole, boomerangs destroying the beings made out of tainted dreamsand. Not long after, North jumped out of a pipe too small for even a child! (Along with a small tooth fairy, Pitch noted). The Queen of the Tooth Fairies flew out of a portal from another direction.

Hidden in the shrouds of darkness, Pitch snarled at his enemies. Then, he spotted a particular child, whose fears had been overwhelmed by relief and hope when Bunnymund had arrived. Pitch smirked as he slipped into the shadows. The boy was defending other smaller children as best he could from the nightmares, when he felt something change. Tensing too late, Pitch pinned the boy's arms with his own arm, tearing away the makeshift weapon out of Jack's grip and whispered in the dirty boy's ear, "Hello Jack."

"Hel-!" Jack's call of alarm was cut off by a gag made of shadows. Pitch preened a little as the boy's fears, both old and new, came back stronger than ever. Jack struggled, but he wasn't strong enough to come even close to breaking Pitch's grip. Pitch grinned wickedly as he drew the pooka's attention with a soft sing-song taunt,

"Oh last of the miserable rabbits, look what I've got!"

"Let him go Pitch!" Oh the avatar of hope's rarely tasted undiluted fear was perfect! Has he been a cat, Pitch would have purred in delight. While the other kids were special because they were kids, Bunnymund already considered the boy in his arms as family! It was just whipped cream on top of shadowy ice cream when the boy's fears spiked again upon hearing the boogieman's name. And as shadow ropes wrapped and tightened around bruised wrists, it earned a delightful scream stifled whimper, reminiscent of the time Pitch had massacred the other Pooka. The furious Easter Bunny hadn't missed the echo of the memory either, his paws tightening further on his weapons.

"Now why would I do that? After trying so hard to get rid of your race, this young storyteller owes me some nightmares." The Easter Bunny twitched, a low instinctual growl emerging as the Pooka strained against his instincts to protect his kit, lest Pitch would bring out a knife poised to cut Jack's throat. "This battle is yours Guardians, but the war is mine!" Pitch cackled as he dragged a distressed and panicked Jack into the shadows in triumph.

"PITCH!" the shadowman heard the outraged howl and cackled.


	9. The Danger

The New Tribe

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or it's universe

Author's note: Am I leaving any holes in the plot that I missed?

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Chapter 9: The Danger

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Four kids huddled together for comfort. In silence, the older pairs of eyes sneaked glances at the guards beyond the jail cell. They had been there long enough to pick out the rotation schedule and the direction of the exit. As the guards left for their evening meal (they gave the leftovers to their hostages), the kids slowly spread apart, setting their plans to escape into action.

"Monty, how did you learn how to pick locks anyhow?" Jamie, although he was on watch out for their kidnappers to come back, kept glancing over, fascinated as Monty moved pieces of flat metal into the lock. On the floor, Cupcake was a second set of sentry eyes out for danger as she kept Jamie's younger sister quietly occupied. The guards, belonging to the notorious Basilisk gang, didn't like noisy kids as the children had found out when they were first taken.

"It's a family hobbie." Monty replied in his concentration, "I've got plenty of pirates and thieves in my gene-o-logy." Monty gave a silent cheer as the door swung open.

"Cool..." Cupcake and Jamie breathed in admiration. They knew those type of people were usually dangerous, but right now pirates and thieves seemed like fairytales compared with the kidnappers somewhere around corners. ...And it was helping them escape.

"How come you don't talk about it much?" Jamie whispered.

"My parents said that we were already new to Burgess and that we didn't need people talking about us more. ...Promise you won't tell?" Monty belatedly pleaded,

Cupcake and Jamie nodded.

"Sure, could you teach us how to pick locks too?" Jamie begged.

Monty smiled, relaxed again, "After we are free," the eight-year-old murmured. The others nodded again. Jamie picked up his little sister while Cupcake put the finishing touches on the 'sleeping' mounds of old hay and ratty blankets. The group slipped out of the cell and gently closed the iron barred door. Eventually, as they crept quietly along the walls, the poorer ventilation prepared the kids to flee for freedom. They were a few hallways away from the front door when they were discovered. They bolted away from the angry, yelling adults. Ahead of their pursuers, they found a small niche hiding place. But it wasn't big enough. So Jamie pushed his not-quite-frightened baby sister into Cupcake's arms and darted away.

Jamie shouted, "Wait for me guys!" as he turned the corner, the adults running after him. Jamie ran further into the labyrinth of offices and corridors, barely keeping far enough from the grunts to keep his ruse intact.

As the hide-away place quieted once more, the other children started to move. Squishing away their fear and worry for Jamie as much as they could, the three snuck away back to the entrance. Cupcake distracted the last guards who had remained in front of the door with a less than perfect mimicry, but it worked. Monty shot Cupcake an impressed look as they booked it out of the building.

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Nine of the new kits scattered in surprise when a rush of wind lightly dropped two ragged urchins in front of them. Only Emma remained unsurprised as she had heard the music of magic coming forward. Her brown eyes opened and hopped forward, "Hello." She helped the boys up, "What's your names?"

"Mat-thew and Noah." The older boy stuttered, "Are, are you a Pooka?"

Emma smiled, "I am now, my name is Emma. Have you heard my brother Jack's stories then?"

"You're his sister!" the freckled boy yelped.

"You've seen him! How is he?" Emma demanded. Behind them, the other nine kits slowly approached them or went back to what they had been doing.

The boys looked at each other, "Well... when he arrived he was so cold it was surprising that he wasn't frostbitten and he was covered in old colored bruises." Mathew admitted, "But he recovered pretty fast after Pippa talked to him."

"Pippa?" Emma asked wistfully, "She's like my older sister, how is she? For that matter, how are you two?"

"She's doing well. Her dad's getting better and she has the afternoon apprenticeship with the Baker. He used to live in the underground when he was our age!" The older green-eyed boy had stiffened when Emma had asked after their well being and was quick to avoid the topic.

But before Mathew could distract the female Pooka, Noah coughed harshly, tiny spots of blood appearing on his hand covering his heaving mouth. "Sandy! Does Aster have any medicine around?" Emma jumped a little in alarm, "Do you know what the illness is?"

"All I know is that it's not contagious. Just a family sickness." Mathew sighed bitterly as he cradled his younger cousin, trying to ease Noah's pain.

"If anyone can fix it, it's Aster, but he's not here right now." Thaddeus murmured worriedly, looking pale as he handed the two newcomers two steaming cups of Willow's recently created mint hot chocolate, warning "Drink it slow."

"Come on Noah." Mathew encouraged after he took a cautious sip, "It tastes amazing!"

As Noah regained his breath, he was able to tasted a dribble of it. It was at a little uncomfortable temperature, but the sweet liquid warmth was worth it as Noah took shaking hold of the cup. "Thank you," Noah was able to rasp after a few swallows.

"Emma? The googlie showed me this when I asked it if it knew where medicine was." Josh tentatively held out a bottle.

Emma sniffed it with her newly enhanced olfactory senses, grimacing, "Well by the power of smell alone it might work... Sandy do you think this will work to at least ease Noah's cough?"

Sandy, not at all bothered by the smell, examined the bottle before nodding, two sand spoons above his head.

Thaddeus ran off to get a spoon. Noah looked warily at the medicine.

"Mathew, do you think you can get Noah to swallow this?" Emma handed the bottle and the spoon over.

" Yes! Even it only helps temporarily, that will better than nothing." Mathew carefully poured a spoonful, thrusting it into Noah's mouth when his cousin couched during his protest. "I'm not letting you go without a fight if there's a chance." Mathew vowed, trying to stare his confidence into his younger cousin.

"Yetch! Yucky! That's nasty!" Noah sputtered. He paused.

"What?! Did it help?" Mathew asked desperately.

"I don't think I've ever been able to breathe so easy before." Noah wondered, a small hope coming to life in his eyes. Maybe he wouldn't die after all. Or at least his passing would be painless.

"Hurrah!" Mathew cheered, hugging Noah tightly.

"Oof! Mathew, air!" Noah gasped, "I can't breathe like leaves, you know!"

"Oops, sorry." Mathew rubbed his head sheepishly.

/

Shortly after Noah and Mathew arrived, a flood of children from the Underground were taking refuge in the warren. Not all of them had chosen to go. Pippa for instance had to leave for her apprenticeship. None of the children who came had used the 'call of the Pooka' so the magic of the Warren did not cling to them like it did to Noah and Mathew. Sandy (and the first ten children who had been turned into Pooka) made several upset exclamations when they heard from Toothiana that Pitch had attacked the children and kidnapped Jack. Sandy made miniature figures of himself and Pitch, with his figurine whirling whips at the Boogeyman.

"We do need you with us, but right now we need you here more. Yes, the magic of the Warren is strong, but who knows if Pitch will find a way inside," Tooth sighed as she waved a farewell, leaving at least three dozen children (Pooka and human) under the Sandman's protection.

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Cupcake had her hands full trying to keep a whiny three-year-old from giving them away. Two sets of feet pounded on the ground, running even faster as the front door guards came chasing after them. Sophie began to wail for her brother, causing the adults to speed up. The kids eyes widened and their mouths opened as they bounced off of someone _HUGE_!

"Need some help?" The red-coated bearded giant winked at them, pulling the children up onto his shoulders and away from the Basilisk gang members. Cupcake wondered for a moment if the man was what busier city folk called a 'sky-scraper'.

In front of the giant, a tall human-sized rabbit and a not-quite-as-tall humanoid hummingbird attacked the members of the kidnapping group. Once they became visible to the adults, Bunny pounced onto them, growling, "Where's Pitch?"

The formerly feared adults whimpered and pointed to their base. Staring into hardening flint green eyes, one child abductor babbled, "We don't know where exactly. Just that he's the boss's boss."

"In the darker spots, maybe." the other volunteered, quivering.

After a quick knock out and a note pinned to each of their fur coats, the two thugs were thrown into a portal. They landed in front of the Watch's prison, pre-tied up in Christmas ribbon. The Watch's prison was already on high alert as a speedy execution had just been preformed in front of shouting (almost a mob) city folk to their furious satisfaction. The man who had been executed had once been known as one Mr. Spot. Mr. Spoot had another name. Known as Pied, he had a pet rat named Mince. He had a reputation as a criminal of criminals that had once been a scourge among the older generation.

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Jamie panted as sped around another corner, completely lost. Pausing for a moment to catch his breath, Jamie listened for the sound of his kidnappers. But any sound from behind him was swallowed up by the darkness. Instead, Jamie heard faint pleading and crying from somewhere in front of him. Swallowing, and collecting his bravery as he looked backwards, Jamie gave into his curiosity.

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Jack felt himself drowning as the rain filled up the old well. _This didn't happen, Bunny saved me!_ Jack chanted over and over, closing his eyes. The scene changed, but his accelerated heart rate did not. The time where he nearly froze before drowning to save Pippa. A voice echoed in his head when his father should have saved him. _Bunny didn't come. _Jack was drowning again. He wasn't worth saving after the first time. Or maybe... Bunny wasn't real. _No! _Jack gasped as his eyes opened, panting as he sat up. Jack shivered,

"It's just a nightmare... just a nightmare...?" Jack trailed off as he started to remember, but then it was dark, just so dark. He was trapped! Jack howled as he pounded on wooden walls until he was left trembling like before. NO! Spoot didn't recapture him... but as the coffin lid was pried open, Jack was yanked out, coming face to face with Spoot's unholy grim grin.

"I told you you would never escape me. It's time for your punishment."

Jack struggled, "No! This can't be real!"

"Mince, bite him. See how real I am, Albino!" Jack didn't get anywhere before he felt the sting of the rat's teeth. Thrown into a tree, Jack cowered as the rope appeared in Spoots hands, descending with a _SNAP! _

"… It's your fault Jack! You lied! The Pooka aren't real." His sister's voice derided. Raising his head slightly, Jack saw the wolf-dogs morph into Emma and his friends from Spoot's orphanage.

"What happened?" Jack asked, fearing the answer,

"We're dead! There was no Pooka to save us!" Thaddeus stepped up and accepted the whip from Spoot.

"Stop... STOP!" Jack sobbed as he scooted away from the accusing beings, but they only smirked evilly as the trees changed into Pippa and the other children from the Underground. They were also shouting cruelly accusing words as the whip descended again.

"… a nightmare, Wake Up!" a new voice interrupted the beating. Jack fled towards it.

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Not having time to take the children home, the Guardians decided on hiding Monty, Cupcake and Sophie in the Warren.

"Bunny!" Sophie cried in glee as she attached herself to the six foot one standing rabbit who tapped the ground, opening a tunnel to his home. The giant of a man and hummingbird lady were off to fight already...

"Ankle-biters, this will take you to my Warren while we fight Pitch."

Cupcake and Monty hesitated. "But how do we know we can trust you?" Monty demanded

"They did save us Monty." Cupcake uttered softly, tired as she peeled Sophie off of the Rabbit's leg, "And Jamie needs all the help he can get."

"Fine. At least tell us who you are." Monty looked dubiously at the hole.

Startled out of a dark mood, Bunny smirked, "Mate, I'm the Easter Bunny." Tapping the ground again, the children yelped as the ground disappeared beneath their feet.

/

Now that the Burgess kids were out of harms way, Aster joined the Guardian's fight on the Basilisk kidnapping gang members.

"If it isn't the Guardians," Pitch sneered as he (and his pet nightmares) emerged from the shadows as another grunt was booted through a portal to face human justice. Each note pinned to a minion was designed by Tooth to explain and show the crimes of the Basilisk members. (Originally, they were officially to help Tooth remember events in the Spirit world... but unofficially she used them to find out who of her friends and enemies felt guilty about not brushing).

"Pitch!" Bunny snarled, attempting to tackle the Nightmare king. But as the name implied, Pitch stepped into another shadow, avoiding Bunny's violent attacks. Finally, with North and Tooth's help, Bunny decoyed Pitch into a solid state long enough to pin him down, "Where...is...Jack?"

"Hmm... Down that hallway." Pitch pointed; Bunny's eyes narrowed.

"Liar." Bunny growled.

Pitch shrugged, slipping away from the Pooka's claws, "He's in my lair... maybe. Jack's safely asleep... for now." Pitch smirked, dodging North's sword, "So... you've asked your question. And here's mine. Where is Sanderson?" Unseen, the last Basilisk grunt was shadow-dropped elsewhere.

"We're not enough of a challenge for you?" Tooth asked sweetly as she flew, swinging her swords faster and faster.

"Is that a compliment?" Pitch laughed, "...So don't tell me about Sanderson, I will figure it out," Pitch though out loud, leaching clues out of hints of the Guardians snippets of fear, "He hasn't been with you this whole time. And he'd be here unless there was another threat equal to myself... ...or he is guarding something. Or someone; children you are afraid I might attack... which means there is already more than the two boys who are on the path to become Pooka." Pitch realized, "I will just have to express my... displeasure with Jackson later."

"Leave him alone Pitch!" Aster roared as he lobbed colorful bombs at the shadows .

"And the clocks ticks... hmm, Jack looked sick the last time I saw him... what if you never find him?" Pitch cackled as he exploited Bunny's fear, "You'll never get to thank him, let alone save poor Jack. After all... Jack is getting older. He could stop believing... or have his light extinguished." The Nightmare King snickered as he faded into shadow.

"Not again!" Tooth cried out frustrated.

"North?" Bunny asked, eyes closed, breathing in and out to calm himself.

"Am sorry, my friend. Pitch destroyed his connection between here and his lair."

Bunny yelled in frustration, kicking down a wall, "How?! How are we going to save Jack?"

"Or anyone else Pitch has in his clutches." Tooth inaudibly agreed.

As North surveyed their damaged environment, he noted that the Guardians had leveled the building into pieces of rubble, "Must have _Hope_, Bunny." the Guardian of Wonder reminded.

Bunny sighed and nodded.

"In the meantime, let's check the Warren's security." Tooth suggested. The others agreed, leaving before any mortals came near the obliterated hideout.

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Jamie opened an unlocked door. He didn't wonder why it was unlocked for long as the source of the misery was revealed. An older boy was uneasily sleeping inside an iron barred cage. The boy looked rather familiar, but it wasn't until Jamie tried shaking the dirty (not that Jamie was in any state of cleanliness to judge) youth awake and dirt fell out of his hair (hair which upon closer examination was a brown-white) that Jamie could remember Jack's name. Jamie tried to wake Jack as his friend shrunk away from his hands.

"...ss..t..opp." Jack groaned cringing even as Jamie removed his hands.

"Jack! Jack, wake up!" Jamie hissed, wishing there was a bucket of water or something nearby until Jamie remembered how badly Jack would react to that. Jamie remembered how Jack was very cautious around sources of water larger than a cupful or small puddle sized even as Jack would make a game out of it. Jamie winced. At least his voice worked, "Jack! It's just a nightmare, wake up!"

Brown eyes similar to his own shot open. Jack relaxed a little upon recognizing Jamie before he tensed again and wondered if he was in another nightmare. Jack had been repeating the last few days over and over, but his nightmares often emphasized that the Pooka weren't real. Jack would be younger, stuck in the old well, drowning when the rain came. Or more commonly the other children, including his sister, hadn't been saved by the Pooka and blamed Jack for giving them false hope. Jack tried convincing them, but they wouldn't believe him, watching and cheering on as Mr. Spoot beat him up. Each night terror was a stab to the heart, and Jack would waver, but then would push past them trying to keep the real events in mind as the next fearful vision caught him up in it's path. But bringing an old friend he hadn't seen in nearly a year was new.

"...Jamie?" Jack's voice wavered, "Is that you?"

Jamie brightened, glad that Jack had been able to remember, (pushing back his own guilt in not remembering Jack's name right away,) "I can see you Jack. It's really me, is it really you?"

Jack seemed to shoot out of a daze, clutching the bars of his prison as he remembered just who was holding him prisoner, "Jamie, you've got to get out of here! Someone really dangerous lives in the shadows."

Fortunately for them, Pitch was occupied with his plotting in his throne room after fighting with the guardians. He fed off of Jack's fear, but wasn't paying close attention to what kind of fear Jack had. It was all sweet-tasting to the king of terror.

"Seeing how I'm lost, I'm going to try anyway." Jamie gritted out as he probed the lock with a stick, trying to completely believe that the lock would open.

Jack gaped as the solid iron door creaked open, "How'd you do that?"

"I believed." Jamie smirked mischievously. Jamie reached in and pulled Jack out, startled at how easily the ten-year-old could do so, "You're almost weightless!" Jamie goggled at the boy four or five years his senior.

Jack winced as he protested, a little miffed, "I can still pick you up!" _Not only am I shorter than everybody else my age, but now kids three to five years younger than I am notice my weight loss after several months of Mr. Spoot's orphanage. _Jack thought as reflected back. He had always been skinny and not as tall as he would have liked, but while Jack had noticed his visible ribs, he hadn't thought other kids would pick up on it. His sister and friends at the orphanage had, but they had been living in tight quarters and been suffering on the same rations. As Jack stumbled after Jamie, feeling rather numb, the tight corners seemed a bit hazy. Jack thought of the people who had arrived in the Underground with interesting entrances. Bunny had saved them! The Pooka had saved them from the first shadows. And then there was one that looked like a warrior Father Christmas and another that, if Bunny ran Easter, who could have been the Tooth Fairy. Jack wondered if they were all Pooka or if just Bunny was. The Hummingbird Lady with swords could have been one of the fae.

As Jack glanced backward into the darkness, he saw eyes glaring evilly at them. He squeaked before clearing his throat, shouting, "Jamie, _RUN_!"

Jack did his best to keep up, but with the increased speed, all Jack could do was barely breathe in between coughs that tore out of his lungs. Hearing his trouble, Jamie's attention flickered to Jack. Jamie grabbed Jack's hand, pulling him along,

"Come on Jack!"

"I'm trying!" Jack wheezed, frustrated and frightened as they fled the moving shadows. _It was just so hard to breathe!_ Jack felt a brief moment of greater understanding for Noah's own condition. Then the thought was gone as the two boys careened around a corner.

/

Just as the shadows were about to overwhelm them and the darkness take them, the two friends staggered as they passed through something close to solid. Jack tumbled over Jamie, both watching in amazement as they slowly understood that the nightmares couldn't get past the barrier of magic. Shadows either bounced off of or dissolved when they rammed into it.

/

The shadows stopped and Pitch appeared, scowling at the shield and shouted at the boys, but they couldn't here him. But when Pitch formed a scythe and caused a crack in the barrier to form, they knew they didn't have much time. In order to reach the other end of the cavern, Jack and Jamie had to cross an icy puddle. As soon as they stepped onto it however, Jack paled as he realized it wasn't a puddle at all, but a frozen lake.

The day Jack had saved his sister from a frozen death by sacrificing himself, his father had barely managed to fish Jack out in time. As a result of nearly dying from drowning and then a battle against hypothermia, his hair had become prematurely white. Despite his talent of ice skating and love of snow, Jack had managed to avoid solid lakes since then. Jack endeavored to not hyperventilate when he saw Jamie not too far from him, thin ice bending.

"Jamie, be careful!" his voice hoarse and small as fear stole his voice. Unseen, Pitch smirked behind the magical barrier as Jack's fear powered Pitch, "Small, light steps..."

"I know, you taught me how to ice skate... Jack?" Jamie saw Jack become nearly petrified in fear as the ice _CRACKED_! But the ice had been solid before, right?

Before Jamie could drop through the fragile lid onto of the water, Jack tackled his little brother away from the spreading web of thin breaks. Taken by surprise, Jamie slid dizzily onto solid ground again. Jack! Jamie's head whiplashes back to the lake. He sees Jack's pale hand slip beneath the water, but before Jamie could scream, he watched the icy water flash blue, flash freeze the pond again. Stunned, Jamie watched the ice glow bright white and blue before shrinking, disappearing as Jack's floating body was revealed. But the most important thing to Jamie was while the frozen water had somehow been absorbed by Jack, Jack was alive! Jamie broke into a run to his older brother's side. Jack was breathing steadily, but unconscious. The only sign of Jack's change seemed that his skin was ice cold and slightly paler to the point of nearly see through. Oh! And somehow he had gotten clean again, hair whiter than Jamie remembered.

The barrier shattered. And while Jamie's heart and stomach seemed to have gotten lost, Jamie stood up, determined to protect Jack. And unknown to this master of darkness, Jamie could fight back.

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Long ago there was a village named Santoff Claussen. In that village there was a wizard named Ombric Shalazar, often believed to be the last of Atlantis's wizards and last survivor. While he was the last surviving wizarding Atlanteon, he was not the only survivor. The other survivors had either not been trained in magic yet or had been unable to use magic. The survivors lived and died, their descendants spreading amongst the continents. One line of descendants had managed to keep hold of stories of Atlanteon magic. Few had the magic to benefit from the stories, but Jamie Bennett, heir to two lines of Atlanteon magic, the older brother of Sophie, son of John Bennett and Lila Silverston, had enough magic that when Jamie Bennett believed, even without training, his magic was nearly visible.

"I believe, I believe, I believe!" Jamie chanted, bracing himself as his magic formed a bright light, destroying several creatures of the dark. He even blew Pitch away! But no matter how strong Jamie Bennett's magic was, Pitch had fought stronger, trained warrior wizards for much longer than the city of Philmark or the village of Burgess had even existed. Completely focused on this unexpected development, Pitch missed how Jack now embodied the living cold, wisps of wind now curling about the boy on the ground. Having entered after the lake had vanished and after the barrier had broken, Pitch was unaware of the missing pond that had once been there.

Jamie did his best to drag Jack away from the shadows in this momentarily pause of surprise. But all too soon, Jamie was standing over Jack's breathing body, panting as he blasted light at the nightmares. Pitch poked at Jamie's fears while waiting the young wizard out.

"You haven't rescued Jack. You can't make a difference- you can't save yourself, your sister, your friends, or Jack. You are both mine." Pitch gloated.

"No..." Jamie lurched as magical exhaustion caught him in it's grasp, falling on top of Jack. "...no..." Jamie shook his head, slurring as he passed out as the shadows grew around them again.

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Deep under the surface of the earth, the children Pooka and human, waited anxiously for news. When the Cupcake, Monty and Sophie, slid into the Warren, some cheered. While they waited, Willow and a few of the kids made a hearty veggie stew. Bored, most of the children tussled cheerfully, brightening when the food was done. They had quickly learned any arguments resulted in getting one of Sandy's 'special' fast balls. After a quick nap, they usually forgot what they were fighting about. A few of the quieter children sat in or under a tree to paint some of the walking eggs.

When North, Tooth and Bunny arrived, they felt bewildered with the level of activity the typically tranquil warren had. Kristopher was the first to notice the Guardians as he had been playing new tag games with Helen and the twins. Sniffing, Kristopher sat up onto his haunches and looked into dumbfounded green eyes, his scent betraying a strong tart loneliness and the anesthetic smell of numb shock.

"Hi ya Bunny!" Kristopher waved, before being tackled by Helen. The girl was a menace! She'd be a great tracker someday. Kristopher thought proudly as he nudged his adopted sister fondly.

North's heavy hand startled Bunny into motion, suddenly next to the mostly brown kits and inhaled their scents tentatively, "...Kurt? ...Helen?"

"Cool! I wasn't sure if you'd be able to tell who was who when we changed from human to Pooka." Kristopher panted as he picked Helen up, "...Why did we shrink? I'm cool with the fur and all, but couldn't I have been taller?" If there was one thing that Jack and Kristopher had bonded over, it had been their mutual loathing for being the shortest in their age group. Though Kristopher did feel badly for Jack when even Kristopher was barely shorter than the older boy.

Bunny barked a laugh, smiling, "Pooka live a _very_ long time kit. You'll gain your height around adulthood."

"But even Thaddeus isn't taller than your legs!" Kristopher yelped. Helen ran circles around her older brother, bumping into Bunny's leg.

"Your ages probably translated over into your Pooka bodies. I'd add a zero to your ages maybe. So Helen is probably six going on sixty." Bunny gently petted Helen's fur, causing Helen to melt, purring in a pile of goo.

Eyes wide as saucers, Kristopher stumbled over his new legs, "But I'd be ...one hundred and twenty! That's ancienter than ancient wrinkly people! How am I not an adult?!"

Bunny chuckled, "Think thousands of years Kurt."

"But, but..." Kristopher trailed off, his mind numb as he tried to comprehend it all, "Now I'll never be tall!" Kristopher wailed.

/

"Bunny! Vhere is globe?"

"By the sunflowers! Oy! Don't step on the tulips!" Taking a closer look, it seemed one of the new kits, Josh maybe, had tried sampling some of the buds.

"What are you doing?" One of two completely identical black Pooka kits asked North.

It really was slightly disconcerting to be stared at by two sets of matching eyes. North wondered where the beanie went. Now that they were no longer human, his magic wouldn't tell him who was who, "Two things! One, strengthen magic barrier around Bunny's Warren! Two, find Pitch on globe!"

"Magic?" One of the twins asked. North thought it might be Caleb.

"How can a ball find Pitch?" The twin who might be Claude asked at the same time.

"Magic!" North beamed, "I was an apprentice to the last Atlanteon Wizard, Ombric Shalazar!"

"Cool... Who was that? / Can we help?" the twins asked at the same time.

"Off course!" North led them towards the sunflowers and opened a door behind the (surprisingly-not-drooping) largest head. Eying it's stem, North thought it was nearly tree width. Pushing the door open, the twins ran in front of him.

The globe was smaller than North's, but it kept track of Bunny's security besides his believers. "Now you look for veak spots, like... this!" North pointed out to one of the black-furred kits, "And you look for black spot when I flip switch." Father Christmas pointed to the other kits.

"This switch? ...opps." The globe's power shut off.

"...Vhere are my yetis?" It was an easy fix; just flip the switch again. North just wanted back-up if something more happened.

/

Cupcake, Monty and Sophie refused to go home without news of Jamie. Tooth knew that since the Guardians hadn't seen the boy (or heard Pitch taunting them about it) that it was likely that Jamie was lost in Pitch's lair. It was only a matter of time before Pitch found Sophie's older brother if he hadn't already. When Tooth told Bunny, some of the Pooka's happiness dimmed a little. Not too long after, Sandy found Bunny restocking his supply of weapons and first aid kit. But until the globe (if it wasn't blocked) revealed Pitch's location, there wasn't much the Guardians could do about the Boogeyman currently. They knew that, but it didn't make them any less anxious for the kids trapped in the pit of darkness. In the meantime, they fixed the Warren's defenses and kept watch over all the kids. Sandy had already began to chart out families that wanted kids but couldn't have any for the Underground children who wanted to remain human. Bunny tried to keep his frustration down to a minimum to not scare anyone.

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Surprisingly Jack was the first to wake. The first thing he became aware of was how he didn't feel sick anymore and how rather cold he was. It felt... odd. The cold no longer bothered him temperature-wise, but he liked how he used to be able to warm up by a fire. Somehow as Jack opened bright blue eyes, breathing out frigid air, he innately knew he wouldn't warm up like that anymore.

Groaning as he trembled and pulled himself to a sitting position, Jack stretched and rubbed his head. He blinked as he recognized the twitching boy at his feet, "Jamie?"

"Hello Jack." Startled, Jack whipped his head around, meeting the Boogeyman's eyes through bars of solid nightmare sand. Realizing the two boys were in a bird cage without a door, Jack gulped as he stared into sinisterly taunting eyes, "Have a good rest?"

Jack didn't answer, trying to regain his voice. And while he was at it, Jack wondered if his internal organs had frozen.

Pitch chuckled as his arms slipped through the shadowy bars, gripping Jack's chin. "My poor little storyteller, so determined to believe in the Pooka." Pitch shook his head in amusement, "I even made you a gift when your faith barely faltered. Then, with your help, I finally figured out how to kill that pesky Pookan Guardian of Hope. It made your little present even more fitting."

Jack tried to yank his head away, trying to get away as he weakly pushed Pitch's arm away. When Pitch had said 'gift', Jack couldn't help but remember that word meant 'poison' in German. Pitch smirked widened as he revealed a vial in his hand outside the bars. Liquid shadow sand slithered into the elaborate, dangling bird enclosure. The shadows struck, binding Jack's hands together above his head to the top of the cage, "I'll never help you hurt Bunny!" Jack shouted as his voice returned, struggling.

"Ah, but you see? You already have. Your willingness or not doesn't matter. In my days of power, I would have turned you already into a fearing, but the night of no moon is too long for me to wait. No matter. I don't need your help. All you need to be is mostly alive, but it doesn't mean I can't make your stubborn hope in that rabbit a misery. Open up, Jack." Pitch choked the child, forcing the white-haired boy to breath through his mouth, dumping the liquid down Jack's throat. It wasn't until the vial full had gone through his esophagus that Pitch withdrew from Jack.

"...what was that?" Jack wheezed as he tried to throw up.

"You won't be able to throw it up." Pitch smiled in glee, "The gift is already coursing into your systems. As for what it was, Jack, you'll find out as soon as you go to sleep. Not even Sanderson could purge it from you." Pitch left Jack dangling there on his knees. (Or eventually, an awkward crouch as the bird cage was too short and wobbly to stand in.)


	10. The Rescue

The New Tribe

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians.

Author's Note: I wonder what anyone will guess what was in the vial that Pitch made Jack drink last chapter. It will be revealed in the next chapter, but I'd like to hear what my readers think it is. Also did this chapter flow easily?

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Chapter 10: The Rescue

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"Jack?" Jamie gasped awake from a nightmare about Jack falling and drowning in the ice.

"Jamie." Jack's relieved voice was a sign of reality. Turning around, Jamie scowled at the rope tying Jack's hands above his head and rubbing Jack's skin raw. Pushing away his fear, Jamie touched the grainy rope. They both gasped when the rope turned from black to gold. His muscles exceedingly sore, Jack collapsed into a pile on the floor of the cage.

"What's wrong?" Jamie asked, wincing at the painful position Jack was in.

"I...I can't move. My muscles are completely cramped up." Jack admitted.

As Jamie knelt to massage feeling back into Jack's feet, Jamie spoke up, "Jack?"

"Yes, Jamie?" Jack tried to move his arms.

"Your eyes are blue."

"What?" Jack blinked in confusion, "Since when?"

"Since you saved me on the lake."

"If that was real... how am I alive?"

"I don't know." Jamie shrugged, "You somehow absorbed the water once you fell in it. Since then... well don't you feel lighter?"

"Considering I'm not six feet under, yes. However, since we are in this cave, we are likely more than six feet under." Jack retorted as he started to regain movement.

"No, I mean, whatever weight you had before is gone. I've been pulling you enough to notice when you go from my weight to the weight of a feather."

Jack blinked at Jamie, opened his mouth, closed it, and tried to jump. However, his body was working against him still. "Nothing seems to have changed." Jack stared at Jamie oddly.

"Yeah, but... Watch." the ten-year-old picked up the fourteen-year-old with startling ease.

"Whoa, okay, I see your point. Put me down now." Jack stared bewildered at Jamie, "Are you sure you didn't get stronger? How does someone just lose their weight?"

"Well, you're also cold, a lot." Jamie rubbed his hands to use the friction to warm his hands.

"I think I noticed that, but I thought it had something to do with being sick or not sick." Jack admitted.

"Jack... Jack!" Jamie tried to hold onto Jack as the bird cage suddenly split, the hard nightmare bars becoming flexible and pulling the boys apart into two dangling prisons,

"Jamie!" Jack reached out. Unnoticed, frost began icing his bars. Jamie desperately tried to turn the black bars on his prison into the golden sand of earlier. But as it turned into golden sand, the black sand fought back, throwing Jamie against something hard. Jamie grunted, opening his eyes. Jamie blinked, going from dazed to full of dread. Now that Jamie was no longer touching the sand, the black sand fought the gold sand and won. Jamie was now stuck in a metal bird cage (the door was only big enough for a bird).

"I thought this might happen." Pitch purred as he emerged in the air between the cages, "I can't have you escaping yet, little wizard." Black sand threaded through the Nightmare King's hands, forming a sphere.

"Watch out Jamie!" But Jack's warning didn't help when limited space to dodge became more unstable. Mince, the rat, was rattling the chain suspending Jamie's prison in the air. With a wicked contemptuous smirk that told Jack that he was playing with them, Pitch faked the throw. Instead, the ball of despair hit Jamie from behind, instantly sending the ten-year-old into the land of unpleasant dreams.

"I'd send you to sleep too, but the longer you stay awake, the more... interesting your gift becomes. Ever heard of a fearling?" Pitch sneered at furious blue eyes. A fear grew within Jack at that detail. Jack didn't know what a fearling was, but hoped that he didn't just drink the essence of one. Jack had not been wanting to see whatever the vial of shadows created, but if what Pitch said was true... he had to go to asleep. But more likely Pitch was lying and Jack couldn't decide if he was more afraid to stay awake or go to sleep, which is likely the result Pitch had been aiming for. Jack heard Pitch's echoing laugh and made his decision.

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Below the boys' prisons, Pitch waved his hands to bring his plans to life. A trap here, a distraction there, a killer from below... and above for good measure. Finally Pitch had a way to bring down the Guardian of Hope and the world with him! Too bad Pitch hadn't realized it beforehand; now Bunnymund was on guard and would be ready for a sudden fight to the death.

Now... what would be the best presentation? He only needed one of the boys... he could add Jamie's power to his own later. Pitch decided, snapping his fingers, causing shadows to hide Jamie's cage. Besides, Jack needed to be alive to appreciate Pitch's little gift. Basebat's apprentice was somewhere about, memorizing the lines that Pitch had written down. Too bad it had to be a mortal who had to call the Pooka, otherwise Pitch could try with random kids if it didn't work. Although... it did take a lot of magic to fight the magic of a Call. So maybe not.

Jack's prison would be next to his throne... no in front when he had the bumbling mortal grunt make the 'call of the Pooka'. When the call couldn't pull the child to safety, the call would pull the oldest Pooka to their location. And then before the rabbit could do anything, he would be dead! Pitch closed his eyes in rapture, a triumphant leering smile on his lips. Then this world would belong to the chaos of fear!

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Jack had stayed awake, if only to get an idea of all the things Pitch was plotting down below. Peering between two of the bars down below, he'd occasionally anxiously flicker his eyes to where Jamie's cage was hidden in the rafters.

It would have been boring had the situation not been so on edge. Absentmindedly, Jack rubbed his neck where a colorful bruise was forming from Pitch. He wondered what time it was.

Later, when Jack realized that he could no longer hear Pitch, he peeked down below. He squinted... that was a nightmare...

"_Boo!_" Pitch chuckled as Jack jumped, startled,

"_AH!_" Jack whirled around to face the Boogeyman, scowling, "Pitch!"

"I see you decided to wait. Ah well, I will enjoy the results of that gift later." Pitch smirked as a sharp snip of fear ran through Jack, like the taste of chilled water in the desert. The child hid it as best he could, however, Pitch wasn't the master of fear for nothing.

Jack cringed as Pitch reached through the bars, hands instantly up in defense. Jack winced as Pitch dragged him closer by his white hair, clawing the Nightmare King's hands. But Pitch acted as if he didn't feel it, leaning close and whispering, "Even if that annoying rabbit somehow survives and rescues you, I have still won." Pitch shook the small fourteen-year-old, before releasing the dazed and intimidated child to fall on the floor of the cage.

Then Jack heard a snap and a rattle and his heart was in his lungs as he was dropped without warning in the enclosure. Sent flying, Jack hit the top and then bottom of the dark sandstone prison as a bruised human basketball when the cage stopped falling, swinging wildly.

Cautiously and suspiciously, Jack climbed up on his feet to look around, before realizing it was pointless to look for the master of shadows in the shadows. But then Jack's breath hitched as he did spot Pitch, lounging in a tall-backed fancy chair, presumably the spirit's throne nearly within arm's reach.

"Begin." the Shadow King ordered.

Jack's head swerved to where Pitch had been looking. Nearby, someone human began chanting.

"I, Blad, call the Pooka. Take this orphan named Jack away!" Basebat's apprentice chanted as he prepped a shotgun.

Nothing happened. Blad repeated it. And still nothing happened. Jack didn't know why it wasn't working. It clearly had worked before. Blad muttered something, inspecting his gun, chanting the words over and over.

"...Maybe the Pooka decided you weren't saving," Pitch's voice laughed mockingly at Jack, who gulped, wondering if that was true or if Pitch was playing with his head. It certainly felt real, especially with Blad's frustration, but Jack was good at some tricks too. Besides why was Pitch trying to Call the Pooka when the magic would only take Jack away? It didn't mean Bunny would come in person... would he?

"Maybe Bunny was smarter and waiting for the Call." Jack knew it was foolish to try and bait his captor but he needed to do _something_ to help Jamie at the very least. But Pitch needed to be distracted and Jack was good at distracting.

"Hardly." Pitch sneered, "That animal will not be expecting it." Pitch's eyes narrowed in thought. 'I missed something... wait... can a stranger's Call work on a child? The two boys had been wished away by Jack and they were barely acquainted. However, Jack had the wishing power of all the children and trust involved. Wish is belief... Did that adult mortal believe enough? That could be fixed soon enough as the last Basilisk grunt already believed in Pitch... and had seen the Guardians briefly before... yes this could be easily fixed. After all, Pitch had all the time he wanted.'

/

As soon as Pitch had been distracted, Jack scanned his surroundings for anything useful. He really could have used some pebbles right now... huh. Jack was sure he hadn't had the pieces of what felt like hail in his pocket before. With some skill gained as a bored sheep herder, Jack started throwing the pebbles through the shadows veiling Jamie's cage.

/

Startled, Jack missed the last throw when Pitch threw a small ball of nightmares at his minion. Jack shrunk away from Pitch as the Nightmare King looked over at him.

His teeth alone looked menacing, as the spirit of shadows spoke, "Just a little more time my storyteller."

"I'm not yours." Jack bristled immediately.

"No?" Pitch jeered, pointedly examining the limited space Jack was trapped in, "You look like a prized bird to me. Displayed with no space to fly."

Jack flushed angrily, neither being noticing the drop of temperature. The boy opened his mouth to retort, closed it and finally settled on determined, "Bunny will beat you."

Pitch's eyes tightened, although Jack wasn't sure if it was caused by amusement or aggravation as Pitch smoothly replied, "So much faith in something alive you've only seen twice. But he hasn't saved you yet, my little bird."

Jack stared firmly, trying to find the balance in how to respond. Jack was mad, but he knew he could only push back Pitch so far when Jack and Jamie really were at the Shadow King's mercy and Pitch didn't seem the merciful type. Jack struggled with himself, finally choosing to try and ignore his kidnapper, but trying to keep an eye on the evil spirit all the same.

Pitch had twitched in anger as Jack had turned away, but a satisfied smile was on his lips when he realized the boy was keeping a wary gaze on him. To vex the boy, Pitch had a nightmare swing the dangling cage harshly. With a cry, Jack hit the sides a few times before crashing on the dancing floor. Jack remained slumped over as he really didn't was to think about the bruises that were going to form.

/

Not long after, Blad (a rather boring name for a less than inspirational mortal in Pitch's mind) awoke. Blad's eyes hardened as he picked up the gun, chanting and focused on the spot where Pitch marked to allow the rabbit to gain access when the Call couldn't save the boy. To Jack's dismay, he saw magic begin to rise out of the dust and try to reach Jack. It was blocked... oh no. This was how Pitch intended to kill Bunny!

"NO!" Jack cried as he jumped up and banged on the bars of his cage. Jack leaped back when strips of sand peeled off the bars and darted towards the boy. Jack tried to dodge, but with multiple ribbons coming at him from all directions, the sand slithered around his limbs, tightening into a thick web. Looking on the cage, the white-haired blue-eyed boy was nearly completely cocooned in multidimensional levels of ropes tied to different bars of his prison. From outside the bird coop, the boy looked like a length of color threaded through an amulet. Jack could only barely move his head, focused on Pitch's deathtraps for Bunnymund. At least Pitch hadn't gagged him; Jack still had a chance to warn the Pooka.

Chucking Pitch redirected his attention to the battling magics.

Jack watched in trepidation as the whirling of leaves thickened in the center of Pitch's lair. His sharp eyes picked out the hole forming in the ground, "IT"S A TRAP!" Jack loudly warned and cringed, expecting a gag to stop him from yelling out directions to Bunny.

There wasn't a gag. And after the third time Jack warned Bunny of a deathtrap, that time a bear trap made out of black sand, Jack found out why.

Each thread of sand acted as a conductor, filled with Pitch's raw malignant emotion. It hurt! Not unlike what Jack imagined being burned and electrocuted at the same time was like. Jack's throat soon felt like shreds as his screams were music to Pitch's ears.

Jack's pained shouts distracted Bunny so much that it was only a stumble that saved him from being instantly killed by a thrown spear. The spear made contact with Bunnymund's side and dissolved. Aster lurched as he tried to stem the blood loss quickly.

"I could so easily kill him..." Pitch's voice carried to Bunny's super sensory hearing. Bunny's ear twitched as he pulled regained his boomerangs in time to stop Pitch's scythe from killing the Pooka. Bunny was _so_ close to snapping and letting himself go wild, but he couldn't if he wanted to survive the traps and save Jack and Jamie. Where was Jamie anyway?

"Or... if he survives..." Pitch's eyes gleamed, "Jack'd make a wonderful fearing!"

That was the last straw. Pitch had forgotten how berserk the best Pooka warriors could be. _Especially_ when equipped with chocolate. Then again, Pitch remembered that they were the only people who gave him so much trouble. Proof in point, Aster had survived this long.

Instinctively Aster made a sidestep there, a jump there, throw boomerang here, sidestep, dodge, crouch, re-throw boomerangs... Sandy whip-lashed Pitch into a wall, wait how'd he get here? Never mind, resume fight for life and liberty...

Jamie was fighting alongside the Sandman, turning large numbers of nightmares into golden dreamsand. Pitch glared, enraged that the wizard-child had woken up and brought the Sandman here. He must have turned the shadows draping the iron cage into enough of Sanderson's dreamsand to bring the former wishing star's attention here. Everything had been going so well too.

Pitch snarled as another trap failed to kill the Pooka, "Just stay still rabbit!"

The Pooka's eyes were wild, but all traces of fear were gone. This was the determination of a predator. Even back in the golden age, many forgot that the Pooka, despite the (mostly) harmless nature of their unrelated but look-a-like smaller cousins, were warriors as well as artists and scholars. After all, the Pooka had a planet where the vegetation was aggressive enough that it tried to kill all non-flora life.

Pitch was hard-pressed to keep the Pooka from off of him with the Sandman and untrained wizard destroying his shadow armies. In his distraction, Pitch stopped tormenting Jack, who slumped, wheezing hoarsely behind them. Without the screams, Bunny slowly came out of his berzerker rage, but not any less determined to defeat the Shadow King.

At some point, Pitch began to run out of armies to occupy his other enemies, and Sandman entered the fight against the Nightmare King. But as the Sandman covered Bunny when the Pooka changed directions, making a tunnel out of interlocking golden shields to the exit of the cave, Pitch's contingent plans were set in motion. Reserve traps and armies charged into the battle field. Sandy urgently motioned Jamie to follow Bunny.

/

Jack fell limply into furry arms as a boomerang slashed the nightmare ribbon cocoon. "Jack, Jack... Don't go to sleep, mate."

Jack blearily opened his eyes and whimpered, one of the few sounds he could still make. Unknown to Jack, that sound was just driving the figurative dagger deeper into Bunny's heart as the Pooka cradled the exhausted child who already so much pull on Bunny's reawakened parental heartstrings.

"Jamie, can you support him?" Aster choked, torn. But in order for everyone to make it out of here alive, Bunny needed to back up Sandy.

"Yeah, go help Sandy," Jack's arm was draped over Jamie's shoulders. The younger boy started running through Sandy's tunnel to the exit, supporting Jack with ease, "Come on, Jack, stay with me!" Jamie tried to cajole Jack out of his sleepiness, "You can't fall asleep now!"

Somehow those words slowly reminded Jack of Pitch's vile liquid shadows. Unable to do more than grunt or whine, Jack couldn't even warn Jamie that he might've been poisoned. So Jack did his best to keep his eyes from closing as he was dragged along by Jamie to the moonlit clearing outside the cave opening.

/

At some point Jack must have closed his eyes, but as Jamie's fingers suddenly tightened on his arm, Jack's raw emotion reacted to his friend's fear. Jack's blue eyes shot open, and found himself staring at a statue of an accidentally flash frozen Nightmare King.

"That's new." Jamie hysterically giggled. The dramatic swings of his emotion between fear and hope were beginning to cause Jamie a meltdown. Sandy's tunnel of protection had buckled and broke under the black sand attack not long after Jack wouldn't respond.

"Boys run!" Bunny yelled at them, limping heavily as he retrieved a fallen boomerang.

Jack and Jamie stumbled into a broken run out of the cave. When the shadows crept closer, Jamie would flash a magical light and Jack would fumble as he tried to recreate the frost and ice he had displayed earlier.

"Come on..." Jamie panted, the encouragement directed equally at himself and Jack. Jack grunted in agreement.

They were so close to the moonlight meadow when they felt themselves being scooped up by furry arms and then diving into a tunnel, just before Pitch's scythe tore into the ground where they had just been standing.

/

Pitch withdrew from the moonlight, sneering at Sandy, "In the end, I have won." The tattered shreds of his robe fluttered to the ground as Pitch, wounded and low on magic, retreated.

Sandy sighed in relief, before making a golden sand roadrunner. He sat on the bird and zoomed off to the Warren, thinking about Pitch's last comment. His creation, picking up on the Sandman's agitation, ran twice as fast as before.


	11. The Vial

The New Tribe

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians

Author Note: Thank you to my reviewers. It's sometimes easy to doubt my own creations like any artist who hears/sees/feels the perceived imperfection. (I used to be a clarinet player and then a choir singer). Although having younger siblings cheering me on helps too.

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Chapter 11: The Vial

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Sanderson arrived in the Warren, his heart aching as he heard the raspy screams that belonged back in Pitch's Lair. The very Spring air was tainted with the worried and solemn tone of children's murmurs. All too soon, Sandy's eyes found the terrified sleeping child. Sanderson tried to dissipate the nightmares dancing above the thrashing child. But they just wouldn't go away! He was the Sandman; Nightmares fled before his presence! But... had Pitch injected something into Jack's blood? The Sandman thought back to a time where even the stars feared the creatures that lived in the night. Shuddering, Sandy was glad that Jack didn't seem to be becoming a fearling. Examining the Nightmares closer, Sandy pursed his lips. They had the silver-gray lining of memories. Tainted memories so powerful... Jack was living or reliving them.

"...Is he fading?" Tooth asked quietly, fiddling with her hands anxiously.

Sanderson shook his head. It was a measure of how frustrated Sandy was that he nearly spoke. He gave them a look, breathing deeply. The form of the wishing star gestured for Jamie to come closer, writing in his sand, 'Teach the other children how to purify the sand, quickly.'

Concerned, Jamie did so, using specks of black sand that had clung to his clothes as test samples. Those who knew Jack better had a harder time pushing away their fear and turning it into belief.

Sandy turned to Tooth, showing a picture of Pitch tainting teeth, "But Pitch shouldn't have had time or the power to do that! Especially to baby teeth still in the mouth!" The hummingbird lady cried in horror.

"What's wrong?" Emma tugged on North's coat.

"Pitch might have corrupted his memories." North answered quietly, knowing that Jack's sister needed to know what was going on. She had been worried having been without her brother for what seemed so long.

Emma gasped, covering her mouth, thinking, "...so Jack's replaying everything good as something bad?"

North nodded curtly, watching Jamie intently. The boy's gift of belief was powerful, quickly spreading, but Jamie had just been rescued too. The tired boy had already had a small meltdown before Sanderson arrived, keeping his baby sister Sophie close.

"...Will he wake up?" Emma's voice quivered.

"Of course he'll wake up!" Jamie knelt next to his shrinked friend turned Pooka, brown eyes staring determinedly into brown eyes. She hadn't been as close as Jack was, but they were still friends, "Jack's strong, he'll win!"

"Why's Jack sad?" Little Lana asked, pointing at the shaking bundle in Bunny's arms. At some point, Bunny must have been bullied into cleaning and bandaging his wounds as it was clear the oldest Pooka was truly concerned for the white-haired almost-teenager in his arms and would most likely have forgotten about his own injuries otherwise. Which is why the more protective kids of Jack, most of whom had become Pooka kits, allowed someone who they hadn't known all that long near the fourteen-year-old. (Not to mention the Pooka kits' new instincts told them that Jack was safe in Bunny's arms.)

Jamie blinked at the young Pooka's unusual blue and green eyes, before shaking himself and dismissing it. "Pitch was a rather mean and grouchy bad guy. He hurt Jack."

"Pitch bad like Spoot?" Lana asked, hushed.

Jamie didn't know who Spoot was, but he knew who Pitch was, "Pitch is the Nightmare King. But if you're brave, you can turn his nightmares back to dreams."

"So Pitch bad." Lana decided.

"Yeah." Jamie nodded.

/

"Can all the kids change the nightmare sand yet?" Tooth knelt by Thaddeus.

Everything got quiet again as the kids looked amongst themselves. Emma hesitantly spoke up, as she had been the last to be able to change the sand, "Yes."

"Now what?" Jamie whispered.

'Now, now you are my safety line.' Sandy wrote in the air. This was too important to be misunderstood even if it left the child nervous. Sandy touched the memory-nightmare sand with the intent of seeing what Jack was seeing, falling asleep.

Jamie gasped as Sandy's hand started to turn black, hurriedly focusing his undeveloped magic to turn it back to gold.

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"Jack?" Sandy asked in the dreamworld as he arrived. He rarely had the chance to speak to another soul without waking a child up. His voice was a deep tenor that could sound like the smallest of deepest of bells.

The air was dark and filled with smoke. Sandy's eyes widened as a fearling darted passed. Instantly, Sandy whip-lassoed golden ropes the menace, dread filling his stomach as the fearling acted as if it didn't exist. The fearling ignored the former wishing star, for now at least, as strange inhuman screams and wails filled the air. Sandy pursued the creature made by the touch of a Nightmare King in power, the destroyer of life nearly everywhere.

"Bunny!" a familiar voice sobbed in an unfamiliar language, "Mom! Dad!" Sanderson flew to the voice, finding Jack being hunted by several fearlings. Instantly Sandy picked Jack up, discovering that Jack was flickering between a shadowy Pooka form and mini version of his current human form.

Upon realizing his rescue, Jack peered up, "Sandy? I'm scared."

"Jack, what did Pitch do? Do you know?" Sanderson asked urgently

"Well... he made me drink this icky stuff." Jack made a face, "He said 'even Sanderson' couldn't stop it."

"Have you seen any of this before?" Sandy gestured to the scenes of destruction around them.

"No. Before you came, it was like I kept switching viewpoints from an outsider to ...I guess being a Pooka kit killed by fire or nightmares. And..." Jack swallowed, "I know each name of whose memories and experiences with each nightmare. It just doesn't stop!"

"!" Feeling like he was running out of time, the Sandman rushed to explain how to stop the rotten memories, "Jack, we need to find your center. It's something unique with special meaning to you." Sandy knew that was a shortened explanation of a normally lengthy process, but hoped Jack could pull through.

Jack was twisting in Sandy's arms with nervous energy, "I... hm... do you mean like over there? It's the the only place that feels safe, but I haven't made it there yet."

An odd mixture of uneasiness and hope... nailed Sandy's very core when the Sandman understood that he was seeing two clashing clouds of magic. One green, one blue. But as Jack began pulling Sandy closer, the former star realized that the clouds were slowly merging. But could it stop the replicated essence of fear's memories?

Sandy nearly started as Jack replied. He hadn't meant to accidentally talk out loud, but maybe Jack could interpret the sand pictures above his head. "Well I do get the sense that neither color usually gets along with the other, but both don't like the touch of shadow. And they both like me. That's good, right?"

Sandy flashed a reassuring smile at the nervous boy, "Yes, if your center is in there you will be able to wake up. But it won't be made by those magic clouds. It would be created with the magic of your very being. Those clouds are mingling with your center... and combining it seems like. However, until you find the anchor of your center, you will be trapped with these fearlings."

"So... to wake up, I need my center. Will I wake up when I touch it?"

"Only if you recognize it as your center and wish to wake up." Sandy nodded.

A barrier prevented Jack and Sandy from getting closer to the clouds. Jack brightened, "We're closer now." A growl interrupted them. Laughing nervously, Jack turned around, stiffening in horror when he realized that fearlings were without number. Even Sandy seemed more than a bit nervous.

"...I'll take the ones on the left, you take the ones on the right?" Jack weakly suggested

Sandy nodded, sending out armies of golden sand creations. Unlike the real fearlings that Sandy had destroyed once upon a terrible time long ago, these creatures of darkness fought better against the Golden Sand.

Then the blackness overtook the dreams... and then nearly drowned the dream maker, "Sandy... please be okay... I'll wake up, I promise..." Jack's voice said as the Sandman was pushed out of Jack's mindscape.

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Sandy opened his eyes into Jamie and the Guardian's relieved ones.

"We thought we almost lost you." Jamie gulped, "Your sand nearly became completely black!"

The Sandman smiled and bowed to the tired boy in obvious thank you. The other youngsters were also exhausted, some already asleep. Sandy sprinkled dreamsand over those already sleeping, and sent his gratitude to them within the dreams. He sneakily sent the other children close to sleep into the realm of dreams, dozing on the Warren grass.

Sanderson's smile of satisfaction became a sad one as he spotted Jack's restless body, shaking in Bunny's arms. At least he wasn't screaming anymore, even if it was because he couldn't scream beyond a quiet squeak. But that was almost worse.

"What is it mate?" Bunny asked quietly. Sandy gestured for Aster to come with him, motioning Tooth and North to stay out of hearing distance. They didn't look happy about it, but agreed.

Once they were far enough away to satisfy Sandy, the Sandman began to pace.

"Sandy?" Bunny was still holding onto Jack or rather Jack was clinging to Bunny. Maybe that would be a good thing, because Sandy knew that Bunny wasn't going to like what he had found.

Sandy made an image of Pitch holding a vial and then pouring the vial down the unwilling throat of Jackson. Bunny growled. At the sound, Jack whimpered until Bunny touched his nose to Jack's head. It was a soothing Pookan gesture, calming Jack back down into restless movements and sounds.

"The ratbag scoundrel made him drink shadows?" Bunny face twisted in horror and anger.

Sandy shook his hand in a 'so-so' gesture with a grimace.

"Worse?" Bunny hissed. At least Bunny had a medicine if it was shadows, but if it was worse...

Sandy nodded and remade the vial with his sand, pouring out a creature of the dark ages along with a rotten tooth.

"...a liquid fearling and tainted memories?" Bunny held Jack closer as if to remind himself that the boy was finally safe in the Warren. Jack sneezed, snuggling into the Pooka's fur.

Sandy nodded, making the fearling circle the tooth and then the hard part. Sandy made the rotten tooth coming from a human into a tooth that looked like one of Bunny's chompers.

Bunny's ears went really flat against his head, "What are you saying Sandy?"

Grimly Sandy made the tooth equal a scene of bunnies being killed by fearlings and then a mini Jack equaling different bunnies.

Bunny took a moment to comprehend this. Had he been moving, he would have staggered. "Jack is living memories of the massacre?!" The Pooka whispered, horrified.

Sandy nodded, but emphasized the fact that mini Jack took the place of several different bunnies, one at a time.

"Over and over? With different memories?" Bunny rasped. Bunny could hardly stand his own memories of the massacre and now... "Is there anything you can do? What can I do? Can't he wake up?"

Sandy shook his head, showing how his sand didn't affect the fearlings circling Jack. For the second question, Sanderson made a clock ticking down and Jack turning into a Pooka.

"He'll wake up when he becomes a Pooka?"

Sandy nodded with a shrug.

"He should wake up when he becomes a Pooka?"

Sandy nodded, making a sorrowful face as he made more sand pictures. He made a mini Sandy armed with an eraser trying to erase the tainted tooth and failing, repeating the motion with a clock, but the tainted Pookan tooth never changed.

"Jack's stuck with the memories?" Bunny softly keened in sorrow. He had been an adult when the last of the Pooka had been massacred and it had been extremely difficult to live on afterwards, but the boy had the memories and feelings of the slaughtered youngsters? Pitch would pay for this crime one day, but right now Jack needed him more.

Sandy made a list with three things, checking off the first two but circling the last one.

"What else?" Aster bristled.

Sandy made pictures of grass dueling a snowflake.

Bunny's face twisted in confusion, "What does that mean?"

Sandy thought pensively, before forming a small bunny sniffing Jack.

Bunny raised a brow, "You want me to small 'im?"

Sandy nodded.

Bunny inhaled close to Jack's scalp. The boy's hair fluttered in an odd way. But besides the magic of the Warren now covering Jack's scent and the fading reminder of Pitch's deathtraps, Bunny smelled a distinct change in the boy's original scent. Aster gave a baffled grunt. The closest description he could give the aroma at the moment was winter and wind. In fact... the last time the Easter Bunny had smelled anything similar was a long, long time ago... were the spirits known as the Winter Ruler and Wind Rider. It was like... Bunny sneezed. Blinking, he sniffed Jack's hair again.

Jack had somehow become the magical child of two forgotten spirits. The only way that could happen was if a mortal descendant inherited and activated the remaining magic of those spirits. Huh.

At first Bunny had always thought the scent of Winter and Spring clashed, but somehow... it just fit together along with the smell of Wind for Jack. It would be interesting to see how Jack's magic would- wait. Jack must have activated his ancestors' magic not too long before the Call was used. Otherwise, Bunny was sure that the boy's magic would have fought mixing with the Warren's magic. And that wouldn't have ended well.

Bunny felt a tug on his fur, snapping out of his thoughts, he asked while inattentive to his surroundings, "Hold on a minute ankle-biter." Then looked down at an annoyed Sandman who had gotten tired of trying to wave something in front of Aster's face. Bunny winced, "Sorry Sandy."

Sandy gave a look that meant, _you'd better be_, before making shapes to ask about Bunny's conclusions about the magic surrounding and within Jack.

"Jack will be okay. He's somehow become the magical child of Winter Ruler and Wind Rider." Bunny smiled at Sandy's startled look. It was a rather unusual expression for the former star, but the long gone/ disappeared spirits had been Sanderson's friends. "Jack's magic isn't fighting the Pooka Call's magic. I'm not sure what we would do if it did."

Sandy agreed, gesturing for them to rejoin the others. Bunny did so, smiling softly as he saw the children all sleeping peacefully under Sandy's dreamsand.

/

"Bunny," Tooth hesitated, "Will Jack be alright?"

"In time, with hope, Jack will be just fine. There's going to be a lot of rough patches though. He needs to know that we're here for him." Bunny settled down against a tree, Jack resting not-quite peacefully in his arms, and a few of the Pooka kits sniffing Bunny out and moving closer in their sleep. Not long after, Bunny's eyes closed. The oldest Pooka hadn't shown it, but he had gotten exhausted while searching for Jack and then fighting Pitch.

Sandy sprinkled good dreams onto Bunny's head, knowing the Pooka would awake the moment Jack went back to flailing. Currently Jack was shifting, but comfortable in Bunny's grip. Unfortunately, Sandy could not give Jack any good dreams until the countless memories of the deaths in the massacre had all been played out. Sandy could enter Jack's dreams like he had earlier to give the boy a rest from constant nightmares, but not only was it dangerous for Sandy, each time he entered a specific dream, he could not spread good dreams to other dreamers.

North and Tooth know that everything is going to be fine with Jack if Bunny has anything to say about it. So do they, but while North was content not pressing Sandy right away, Tooth wants to know the details.

"What's wrong? Can I do anything to help with the tainted memories? Was it tainted memories? Why couldn't your dreamsand work?" she fluttered insistent with persistent questions.

Sandy creates a scene where mini-Sandy, armed with a baseball bat knocks out a nightmare with a dreamsand baseball. Then he repeats the scene only the nightmare looks slightly different, a tooth over it's head, but mini-Sandy's dreamsand baseball doesn't knock the wild horse out. Mini-Sandy becomes a mini-Tooth. She punches the horse, but the horse didn't fall.

"So... dreamsand didn't work because it wasn't a nightmare." North put together,

"And I couldn't have done anything?" Tooth questioned to make sure.

Sandy nodded at them, waving at Tooth and eventually conveying that she couldn't have helped with the memories because they weren't Jack's natural memories. Tooth assumed that it was some new evil weapon that Pitch had created, going into a panic until Sandy nearly nailed her with dreamsand, just for her to calm down. Tooth managed to evade it (mostly by accident). North had grown concerned as well, but relaxed as Sandy explained that it wasn't going to be repeated and it took a lot of magic from Pitch. The poison, along with the destruction of the kidnapping gang and the Nightmare King's trap for Bunny took a huge toll on Pitch's magical and physical reserves. He wouldn't be attempting this situation again or be around for a while... probably. The Shadow King preferred to be at or near full strength when he battled the Guardians.

"But why tell Bunny alone first?" Toothiana pushed for information lightly, knowing Sandy had a reason to do so.

Sandy gently tells her that it was a private matter with a stop sign and mini-Bunny. Toothiana nods in acceptance.

/

While the others continue to sleep, the three Guardians still awake continue with their adoption plans for the Underground children who are staying human. (They can't live in the Warren after about a year unless they are either Spirts or Pooka). Sandy's the best at figuring out prospective parents (North is second best as he sometimes gets wishes for siblings in his letters) and all three are good at scouting out homes. Each of them figure out who each child would fit best with each family, but leave a couple of back-up options if the kids decided to say no or be near another child from the Underground. North plans to bring extra food for those neighborhoods around Christmas (or before if the need was urgent). Now... they just need to find a way to introduce the kids to the prospective parents.


	12. The Time

The New Tribe

Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians.

Author's Note: Jack didn't want to become a Pooka last chapter. I tried, but the words just wouldn't be written. ...He's not a white Pooka kit either.

/

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Chapter 12: The Time

/

/

"Come on!" Jack glanced anxiously at the barrier and back at the fearlings following him. After the first couple of nightmares, Jack figured out that each fearling represented one Pooka's memories/ experience when they were killed. After the first half-dozen, Jack figured out that it was the merging magics that were keeping him from being overwhelmed with too many memories at once. A shot of blue lightning here or a green tornado there prevented the fearlings from getting at him more than one at a time. But Jack was tired of being scared and having the memories at all. Jack hoped that when the barrier when down or allowed him access to his magic that he'd only have to face one or two fearling per resting period afterwards. If it kept up at the rate it was going, Jack feared he would forget who he was and go mad. He need some fun and joy to balance out this depressing and gloomy atmosphere! But the barrier was still up as Jack was pulled into another set of frightened memories and feelings. Jack whimpered.

/

* * *

/

Bunny didn't know how much time had passed when he woke up, blinking as he realized that he had a living blanket on him. Pookan kits were clutching his feet, legs and Jack in their sleep. Although a few of the kits were waking up as they also smelled the increased distress signals from a whimpering and silently crying Jackson Overland. Bunny soothed the agitated youngster as best he could, a smile flickering upwards as he realized Emma had chinned Jack in an additional gesture of comfort. The other sleepy kits chinned him too, rubbing their yawning heads against Jack's skin. With the kits huddling on top of and next to the boy, Jack somehow refrained from lashing out in his sleep. The Pookas could only cuddle Jack and wait for him to wake up.

About an hour or two later, the human children began to wake up. Some were hungry again and one of the older children, around the age of a teenager, managed to round up and manage the young kitchen 'helpers' to Bunny's relief. Aster was rather stuck, not that he was willing to move at the moment.

/

* * *

/

Jack, trapped in the memories of a young Pooka called Acorn, felt himself dart away from the pursuing killers behind him. Jack hoped that Acorn's death would be quicker than the last.

/

* * *

/

Back in Philmark City, the Basilisk gang members were getting speedy trials for two reasons. One, they didn't want their prisoners escaping. Two, the judges wanted to make a statement about the kidnapping criminals. A volunteer group of searchers looked for the missing escaped children.

/

* * *

/

Three bells tolled in the Warren, the magic of the Call surrounding and cocooning Noah and Mathew gently. Everyone nearby watched, fascinated as they watched the light and whirlwind of flowers slowly fade, revealing two new Pooka kits. Both green-eyed freckled boys had changed quite a bit. Noah now had a lighter shade of red-orange fur than Josh's coat. He apparently wasn't old enough to have markings. Mathew had inspected Noah first to make sure his younger cousin was okay before looking over his new sleek black coat with dark red highlights threaded almost invisibly within it. Mathew twitched as dark navy markings swirled slowly into his fur.

Noah cautiously stretched and yawned. While he no longer felt the cling of his family's sickness, he was still tired even after that long nap.

Mathew swallowed as he realized that he, Mathew Stonemason, had a fur coat. He had been more concerned for Noah at first, but... he was struggling not to hyperventilate now that he realized he wasn't human anymore. One of the other Pooka kits, Emma, Mathew remembered hopped over and nudged him,

"Relax... look at me... breathe..." Emma, the brown colored kit soothed the slightly older boy, "Yes you have changed, but it's okay. We're here and so is Noah. Breathe..."

As Mathew calmed down, Thaddeus asked Emma, "How did you do that?"

Emma looked at the tan Pooka kit oddly, "Calm him down?"

"No, you um... what's the word I'm looking for? You've done it twice now. You seem to... anticipate things happening." Thaddeus gestured, hoping he was conveying what he was trying to ask properly.

"Oh! Can you smell the magic that changed us?" Emma asked first.

Thaddeus nodded.

"Well... can you hear it?" Emma closed her eyes, ears at attention, smiling.

Thaddeus tried to hear the magic, but he wasn't sure of what he was listening for. So he asked Emma to describe it. She opened her brown eyes and looked unsure,

"...I don't know how to describe it yet. The best description I can come up with is that it's like a melodic wind."

"Maybe Bunny knows." Thaddeus turned to the older Pooka and repeated his question. After some initial confusion, Aster was surprised and awed that Emma had been 'listening' to the magic of the Warren.

"It's usually a trained gift and not everyone can do it, but you have a lot of natural magic if you can hear the magic right away after becoming a Pooka."

"Natural magic? Is that like the elemental magic we were talking about earlier?"

Aster nodded, "Yes, however natural magic doesn't lean just toward the elements, it is necessary for making my chocolates, for opening tunnels, for growing plants... and other stuff."

"Cool." Thaddeus smiled as Emma hummed in agreement, looking out across the Warren. She glanced at her still sleeping brother.

"Bunny, how much longer before Jack wakes up?" Emma asked, playing with her paws in unconscious sign of her worry.

The older Pooka breathed out deeply, "Don't know. But he will wake up." The kids nodded in agreement.

"Can you tell us a story?" one of the black-furred twins pleaded as the idea popped into his mind. It looked like Caleb.

"Yeah, a story!" Helen latched on to Bunny's forearm.

"Story!" Tyke cheered.

"Alright ya, ankle-biters. I've actually been trying to remember a tale about two Spirits..." The children, human and Pooka sat eagerly in a circle around the Easter Bunny.

/

Once long ago, in a time where winter ruled most of the Earth there were many nature spirits. Of those spirits, there were two who shared an romance belonging to the many forgotten epics. Wind Rider was the sister of the four directional winds and the Winter King was... well the ruler of most of the Spirits of Earth. When the two first met, Wind Rider teased the King, while he subtly flirted back and at the same time tried to deny the magnetic pull the woman had over him. Eventually over the course of a couple of years, the Winter King courted the Wind Rider. He proposed (after learning from Wind Rider how to dance on the air) with carefully crafted ice flowers in the center of her favorite meadow. She accepted. And for a time they were happy. But their hearts ached. They had children, but they were mortal and grew up, married, had children of their own, and died within the space of (to Spirits) not many years.

Eventually both searched out possible ways of having an immortal child. One day they found out that they would have to give one of their mortal children or mortal descendants a piece of their power in order to become an immortal. But before the Wind Rider and the Winter King could figure out who would inherit part of their powers, the Spirit War happened. Many seasonal spirits died in their blind anger against other spirits. The Winter King was mortally wounded protecting and saving Wind Rider's life. Knowing he was dying, he wished to give his wife hope to endure the years without him. So with the Wind Rider's help, the Winter King pooled his power into a literal lake and set up a barrier of magic surrounding it. With the passing of her husband, Wind Rider gave up her physical form and became a wind like her brothers. Mourning, she left enough breezes of herself to guard the lake as she disappeared, never to be seen again.

/

Once the kids realized that was the end of the tale, Josh hesitantly asked, "Bunny?"

"Yes... is it Josh?"

The red-orange furred Pooka nodded, "Will anyone ever see the Wind Rider again?"

Aster eyed Jack's personal breeze waving through his white hair, "Maybe someday."

/

* * *

/

Jack scrabbled to the barrier, sensing how it was becoming easier to push against.

Three... two... one...!

Jack tumbled through the barrier. He went from a white-haired blue-eyed human on the fearling side of the barrier to becoming a blue-gray furred Pooka with white marking outlining snowflakes and winter flowers on the magical side of the barrier. He kept his bright blue eyes.

After Jack was done examining himself, he scanned his surrounding on this much more peaceful side of the barrier. He followed Sandy's brief instructions, focusing inwardly to hopefully sense his core. Something caught his eye and Jack darted off.

/

* * *

/

The magic of the warren once again went to work again as three bells tolled from nowhere. Still holding Jack, Aster felt excited and tense as light, leaves, and flowers wrapped the boy like a living blanket. When Jack was visible again, Bunny was holding a younger and brighter blue-gray version of himself. Aster wondered unconsciously if it was because he had been holding the boy through the process. However, while Aster's markings were a dark blue, Jack's pattern of snowflakes and winter flowers were white. But while Jack was more at peace and calmer than before, he still wasn't showing any signs of waking up.

/

* * *

/

"What am I looking for?" Jack mumbled to himself. He had found plenty of interesting places and things. He climbed growing ice trees in a patch of frozen Spring. When he touched leaves, they changed colors. Jack wandered into an igloo in a scene of constant winter. Smelling the mixed clouds of magic, Jack got the feeling that the green magic was what had turned him into a Pooka and that the same power made the growing plants and the small oases of Springtime in his mindscape. On the other hand (or paw now), Jack took another sniff and got the impression the blue magic was why most of his mindscape on this side of the barrier was nearly completely Winter. Maybe it was the nature of the Winter magic, the result of the merging magics or Jack's inate personality, but the snow looked friendly and welcoming. And because Jack could no longer feel the cold, it was a near paradise. It was only missing other living beings.

Wanting to see his sister again, Jack didn't get distracted for too long by the mixture of magics and tried to figure out what he was looking for by continually wandering around. Something... that represented Jack... what made him who he was? Jack pondered.

/

* * *

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Somewhere in the skies above Earth, a breeze reached the wind once known as the Wind Rider. She shook in excitement as the wisp, reunited with her, told her of a boy who had been accepted by the barrier and received the Winter King's powers. Tearing through the air, she zoomed off at hurricane speeds to where her little breezes surrounded the boy in the Easter Bunny's arms.

/

* * *

/

Taking a break from growing frustration, Jack sat on a tree branch, legs dangling as he wondered what and where his center could be. Idly, Jack traced the bark of the wood. Jack leaned forward and brushed the leaves, smiling as they changed from green to gold, red, and orange. The leaves fell shortly afterwards, leaving behind the curved branch the new Pooka was resting on. Although... it began to look increasingly familiar. It was on the tip of his tongue, but Jack couldn't catch the idea yet. Sighing, he relaxed against the trunk, staring upwards at fluffy clouds visible in front of a gray foggy sky. Irritated, the sky seemed to grow a little dimmer to reflect Jack's mood.

/

* * *

/

Wind Rider darted into a cave and down into one of the tunnels belonging to the Pooka. More than a little dirt was torn from the walls as she rushed along. Her, their, son had been 'born'! The thought sent thrills of exhilaration down her metaphorical body. She ignored the startled cries as she pulled up short, sensing that her boy was covered with not only the wind and winter magic, but the friendly magic of the Warren that had changed the boy into a Pooka and the enemy's shadowy magic. Wind Rider didn't care that her son was no longer human; after all, she wasn't human either. But she would have snarled at the sign of Pitch had she had a face to make expressions with. Gently Wind Rider wrapped herself around her son as a shield, ignoring the Easter Bunny. Pitch would never come near her boy again if she had anything to say or do about it. She patiently waited. Then as her son twitched and stirred, Wind Rider eagerly anticipated getting to know Jack. And teaching him how to fly.

/

* * *

/

Jack shuddered as he imagined the legions of fearlings outside the barrier. He was safe for now, but all those fearings... it made him sick to think that he might be stuck with the memories forever going by what Pitch had implied. Looking away from the barrier, he couldn't help but reflect on the experiences he had already gone through. There had been Lily, Sentry, Sentinel, Firefly, Belle, Vine, and Acorn.

He tried to sense the outside world with little luck. What had Sandy said again? That Jack had to recognize his center and wish to wake up whenever he found out whatever his center was. Jack sighed. Things had gotten so much more complicated since his parents' deaths. Before all he had to do to support his family was weed the garden, help others with their farms, and herd the sheep. Jack smiled fondly as he remembered his father passing on his shepherd's staff (meaning he could tend the sheep alone) around age seven. Jack wondered if the staff was still in Burgess's woods by the lake he had nearly drowned in to save Emma. It looked not unlike the branch Jack was resting on now... joy flooded Jack's veins as he grasped the branch. It broke off cleanly from the living ice-wood trunk and Jack somehow floated to the ground. Cheering in triumph, Jack wished to wake up.


	13. The Epilogue

The New Tribe

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians

Author's Note: I am seriously cheering= this is the first story I have ever finished! Well... I have one story I wrote to the finish, but that was was not well written (major plot holes and novice writing) and I ended the story by killing off my main character.

Real life side note: I like mashed potatoes but apparently they don't like me. When I make them they tend to be very runny or too thick, but the last two times I've made mashed potatoes (the latest in particular), I've gotten burnt by liquid mashed potatoes. Who does that? (Besides me apparently).

/

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Chapter 13: The Epilogue

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There was no drowsy moment when Jack's blue eyes opened. Startled at the close proximity everyone was to him, he opened his mouth to comment, but all that came out was a soft mew. With the sound, Jack's body reminded him how hungry and thirsty he was. Fortunately (and embarrassingly) everyone with Pooka ears could hear his stomach quite clearly.

"That's right! I had forgotten... When was the last time you ate?" The voice of Thaddeus questioned. Jack blinked, processing the question. He wasn't sure if he knew; other than the fact that the vile vial of shadows didn't count much for a meal.

"The last time I saw him eat was at the Underground." The voice of Matthew volunteered. Jack's blue-gray furry ears were swiveling about at attention, trying to pinpoint his friends' voices.

"That was more than a day and a half ago!" Thaddeus's voice cried aghast.

"I think there is some stew left." Willow's voice seemed to be coming in the same direction that a small blonde-auburn furred Pooka with reddish-orange markings was dashing away.

Sniffing the air, Jack sneezed, quickly overwhelmed by the new universe of a higher developed sense of smell. Looking down at himself, he realized his body's change in his mindscape had happened in the real world too. _'And that meant... Was he a Pooka now? And if that was the case...'_

"Jack, it's me Emma!" A Pooka with a brown coat met Jack's blue eyes with her own brown.

_'Emma? You're here?'_ Jack tried to speak, but it hurt and a whimper escaped him. He outstretched his arms instead and Emma gave him the lightest of hugs. His body then also reminded him that Jack had pretty bad bruises all over. Tears prickled his eyes as Jack ignored his hurting limbs and hugged Emma back. Opening his eyes and hearing his friends' happy voices, Jack realized his friends from the orphanage were okay too and had become mini Pookas. He had been worried for them ever since the nightmares Jack had had before Jamie rescued him.

After the long hug with his sister, it occurred to Jack that he was being held by large arms. _'Did I shrink?' _He dismissed the thought for the moment and looked up. His awed blue eyes met Bunny's bright green eyes.

"Glad ta meet you, Jack. I'm E. Aster Bunnymund, but me mates call me Bunny."

Jack looked quizzical as he heard the odd pronunciation. Understanding his unspoken question (having been asked several times by the other kids), Bunny smiled, "My accent's Australian."

Jack nodded making two of his fingers bounce on his hand. The other kids who knew Jack brightened in understanding while Bunny and the other children looked confused.

"Like a kangaroo!" Josh made the same motion, giggling, "Bunny's a kangaroo!"

"Oy! I'm no kangaroo!" Bunny protested, but there was no real bite to his words.

Jack and the other kits giggled. (Well Jack's laugh was more of a raspy breath but it still counted). For now, Jack relaxed and stayed in Bunny's arms.

"I got the last of the stew... it's cold though." Willow handed the giant bowl to Jack. Bunny steadied the bowl when he noticed that Jack was unable to hold it. Jack smiled his thanks and shakily maneuvered the spoon into the vegetable stew. He spilled a lot, thick liquid dripping onto his thigh and chest as Jack ate what he could. But while it was less than lukewarm to the others, it was the perfect temperature for Jack. (For now at least).

"Mathew do you still have the medicine?" Thaddeus tugged on the other kit's shoulder, voice slightly above a whisper.

"Yep. I'll be right back." Mathew darted off.

"Good job remembering that." Willow praised Thaddeus. She was younger, but she didn't act like it most of the time.

"Yeah." Thaddeus rubbed his hand on his head.

Too soon, despite his hunger and Bunny reminding him to take it slow, Jack's stomach was full. At least he had managed to eat the entire bowlful. Looking around, Jack spotted a blonde leach on Bunny's leg. _'Is that Sophie?'_ Smiling in amusement, Jack reached out and tugged on the three-year-old's locks. Green eyes looked up and blinked,

"Baby Bunny!" Jack winced at both the name and the loudness of the shout of glee. Sophie extended one hand towards little fluffy Jack, while her three other limbs still clung to Bunny's resting leg.

"Be gentle Sophie. Jack is hurt remember? And... messy. Let him get cleaned up first." Jamie was still human, Jack realized as the younger boy sat up from where Jamie had been sitting and scolded his younger sister. Then again, Jack remembered that the Call for the Pooka had only been for him and not for Jamie. Jack bounced a little, waving a greeting at the Bennett siblings.

"Hi Jack," Jamie gave a largely relieved smile, "I'm glad you're awake."

Jack gave a return grin to say silently, _'Me too.'_

It took Mathew a bit longer to return as the medicine bottle was harder to hold onto with his smaller paws, but he made it, "Here you go Bunny."

"Thanks, ankle-biter. Hey Jack, open up."

Unsuspecting in his distraction, Jack opened his mouth. In entered the spoonful, down his throat, Jack making disgusted faces. Still, it did taste better than the shadows... slightly. But then Jack spotted colorful eggs walking! Fascinated, Jack wriggled out of Bunny's arms and bounced on a purple and blue dyed egg with little legs. Or Jack would have if he hadn't gotten stuck in the air. Jack yelped in confusion then in surprise as he slipped out of mid-air and back into Bunny's arms. The older Pooka chuckled.

"Think she's telling you to rest up. Be gentle with my googlies; they're for Easter."

Jack peered up inquisitively, trying to convey his question in a thought, _'She who?'_ Jack tried to speak, but even with the medicine, Jack couldn't use his voice yet.

At first Bunny thought Jack's questioning face was about his googlies and so the Easter Bunny explained their existence, but at the end of his explanation Jack gave him a look that said, _'That was interesting, but I wanted to know about this 'she'.'_ And so Aster repeated the tale of the Winter King and the Wind Rider that he had told the other kids while Jack was still caught up in fearling influenced memories of the massacre.

"Did the Winter King's magic look like a frozen lake?" Jamie asked at the end of the second telling. Somehow Sophie was no longer clinging to Bunny's leg, but was instead wrapped in Jamie's arms.

Bunny thought about it, "I never saw it, but it would make sense. Did you see it?"

"Jack fell in it." Jack's shudder confirmed Jamie's information. An invisible hand combed Jack's fur in a gesture of comfort, buffering the closeness of Bunny's tightening hug.

"_Fell_ in it?" Bunny repeated in dread.

Jamie's voice grew increasingly hysterical, "He saved me and then I thought he was drowning when the lake lit up and Jack somehow absorbed it. And his brown eyes became blue!"

"Hey, hey Jamie. It's alright." _'It was a lot harder to offer comfort when you were so much smaller than the person you were trying to calm down,'_ Emma thought, _'I can be hysterical that my brother nearly died again by drowning later'_, "Jack's okay, you're okay and we're okay. Please calm down Jamie."

Jack squirmed and Bunny loosened up on his hug. Jack inched closer to Jamie, mindful of the gentle breeze and other children as he made his way to Jamie. Jack nuzzled Jamie's hand, breaking the brown haired boy's sadness into smiling sniffles. When Sophie tried to pet Jack, her hands would slide off on the barrier of air. Far from being disappointed, Sophie climbed out of Jamie's lap and ninja-ed over to the Easter Bunny's free arms. Bunny chuckled softly.

/

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* * *

/

/

After a second dosage of medicine, Jack was able to speak in tiny whispers. While it was semi-odd to hear his friends' voices coming from their new bodies, and odder still to need to get used to his higher senses, it was even more annoying to know that everyone else was speaking at a normal level and then hear the few snickers when his small voice became squeaky. The medicine seemed to also be working on his bruises. Already Jack felt less sore.

/

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* * *

/

/

Now that Jack had awoken, the Guardians began approaching the human children about potentially being adopted and by whom. All were cautious, most agreed, and a couple refused. Those that had agreed were introduced in person to the families. Again all of the children were cautious, most 'clicked' with their new families and a few took a lot longer to become comfortable with new parents. Of the orphans who had refused, one had gone on to become a cabin boy (and one day the second-in-command) of a ship. The other two went on to become traveling medics (after being trained first by Bunny and then by promising physicians).

The kids from the Underground built successful lives and while they lost belief in the Guardians after a while (for most), each one of them remembered and made it a point to share the story about the Call of the Pooka. It became a popular tale among kids, spreading through siblings, friends, acquaintances and eventually the grown-up children of the Underground's descendants.

Pippa and the other youngsters who had not gone to the Warren, often found baskets of wonder and hope during the harder times. Food was always a blessing. Some, hearing about the successful adoptions of their other friends asked for a new home and family as well by wishing letters to the Guardians.

Monty's parents were so relieved that their boy was home that they picked up the speed in training him in family 'techniques' when they heard that it was the reason the kids had escaped. Plus Monty was on his way to becoming a pretty good blacksmith, despite not looking like a mountain of muscle.

Cupcake hugged her mom tightly, who hugged her daughter just as closely back. Cupcake's father, unlike Monty, was a mountain of muscle (not as tall or large as North however) and easily gathered them both into a giant's hug.

/

Jamie and Sophie knocked on the door of their home eagerly, opening the door to see their mother, frozen as she saw her offspring for the first time in a _very_ long time.

"Momma, momma!" Sophie cried,

"Mom!" Jamie and his sister ran into Lila Bennett's arms.

"Jamie! Sophie! You're okay!" After she had partially recovered from stunned amazement, Mrs. Bennet sobbed in relief as she clung to her children.

"You're safe." their mother repeated as she rocked her children.

"And so are Cupcake and Monty." Jamie beamed.

"That's good." Mrs. Bennett murmured. Sophie began to squirm out of the hug.

As the precious moment ended, Mrs. Bennett sniffed, "You two need a bath."

"Aw, mom!" Jamie half-heartily protested with a smile.

"Color bath!" Sophie clapped her hands, "Bunny! Hop, hop!" the little girl bounced.

Normally an adult would have smiled indulgently, but this adult was a worried mother who believed in the tales of Atlantis, "Bunny? What Bunny?"

Jamie shuffled a little, "The Guardians saved us." Gratitude and curiosity filled Lila Bennett's eyes, "And the Easter Bunny is one of them."

Mrs. Bennett paused, not sure if she believed or if she was hearing right, "A man named or nicknamed Easter Bunny?"

"He's actually a Pooka and yeah, that's basically his name, E. Aster Bunnymund."

"What's a Pooka?" Jamie's mother asked slowly.

"They look like bunnies, but they are tall! And they're warriors and artists."

"And where's this Pooka?" Lila Bennett paused, thinking. Sophie had stopped 'hopping' and curled in her mother's arms again.

"Probably back in the Warren. Oh! He saved Jack and Emma too! But Jack got hurt and so people are being over-pro-dective."

"It's pronounced overprotective," Mrs. Bennett absentmindedly corrected, "Jack and Emma as in the Overland children?"

"Yeah, the bad guy captured Jack and me. The others had already escaped."

"Jack and I. Who was the bad guy? Were there other children not from Burgess then?" his mother stressed. Unconsciously she was already on the verge of believing in the spirits of childhood.

"Pitch, the boogeyman. And no, just Jack. He attacked the Underground in Philmark, but Pitch only took Jack."

"The Underground? But what about-?" Mrs. Bennett started.

A knock on the door interrupted her, the door opening soon after, "Dad? Mrs. Bennett? Jamie! Sophie! You're okay!" Pippa rushed in and swept everyone into a group hug.

"Pippa are you alright?"

The tall girl paused, "Mostly, I'm worried for a friend. A bad guy kidnapped him and the Guardians went to go save him." As the two children caught each other up on what had happened, fitting their pieces of the story together, Lila Bennett found herself also believing in the Guardians: Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and the Easter Bunny. But hold on...

"Jack nearly drowned again? And he became a Pooka?"

"Turns out that his family had stories of the Pooka like our family has stories of..." Jamie stopped, his gaze flickering to Pippa.

"Stories of what?" Pippa asked, now holding on to Sophie.

"You can tell her, but Pippa please remember they are family stories." Jamie's mother admonished. Pippa nodded her agreement.

"Atlantis was real..." Jamie started. He wasn't as good of a storyteller like Jack, but he was close and getting better.

/

Later that night, while Pippa slept on a cot not far from her father's side (when Pippa's father was awake, he was able to sit up, but not walk yet) in another room and Sophie snoozed away, Jamie woke his mom up.

"Mom?" he whispered.

"What is it Jamie?" his mother yawned.

"I kinda left a part of the story out when I was telling Pippa."

"Oh?" Was that good or bad news? Lila wondered, mom instincts acting up.

"You know about the magic in the tales in Atlantis?" Jamie

"Yes... Jamie do you use it?"

"...Yeah."

"That's wonderful Jamie!" Lila Bennett breathed in awe, "What are you nervous about?"

"...I'm going to need a teacher. Not just the stories."

Understanding filled his mother's brown eyes, "And there's not many if any teachers at all. What did you have in mind?"

"Well... North was actually an apprentice of an Atlanteon wizard."

Lila was quiet for a while, "I want to meet him first before I agree to anything." Jamie nodded, still growing excited, but trying to keep his happiness muted enough so he could go back to sleep.

/

/

* * *

/

/

As the other human children were either taken home or given a new home, Jack grew restless and began experimenting with his ability to 'fly'. Jack grew suspicious when he couldn't really go too high- something or someone seemed to be making sure he wouldn't be injuring himself more. In a series of amusing guessing games, Jack figured out that not only that Wind Rider, his magical mother, was there, but the two found a simplistic way to communicate with mainly 'yes' and 'no' and 'other signs to communicate. Jack was excited to find out that Wind Rider would teach him how to ride the winds and communicate easier with her as he recovered.

Bunny didn't seemed surprised at all when he discovered Jack's novice attempts at speaking to the wind. Tooth and North didn't notice, but Sandy did although he didn't say (with his sand) anything about it.

The other kits were saddened to discover that they couldn't learn to fly, but were distracted by Bunny's lessons. Yes Jack could fly, but a few couldn't stand being off the ground once they had learned how to connect with Earth's magic and make tunnels. And all of the children didn't want Jack's nightmares. Jack still screamed and sobbed in his sleep until Jack made it to what he called 'the barrier' in his mindscape. Sandy had made it a habit to come into the Warren to check on Jack when the young Pooka slept (and to make sure Jack was sleeping).

The next time Sandy popped into the Warren, Jack was twitching in his sleep. Sandy was alarmed to discover that Jack had yet to wake since the last time the Sandman had visited. Even so, Jack had somehow moved in his sleep... to the other side of the Warren. It was a mostly hidden part where Bunny had built a monument to his people long ago. It had been recently been cleaned off, but there was also a newer monument, with an increasing number of names being written onto it. Thaddeus quietly explained that Emma had been the one to suggest the idea to Bunny so Jack could have some peace while the newest Pooka was awake. Gathering the children, Sanderson once again entered into Jack's mindscape.

/

Almost immediately Sandy found Jack, who wasn't going through a memory at that time, but was trapped away from the barrier, his legs stuck under a pile of rubble. The fearlings looked pleased with the fear and panic they were gathering, taunting Jack with sharp claws and fierce teeth instead of just making the boy endure the memories. Sandy managed to prevent another fearling induced memory so soon, digging the rubble away. Jack flinched as Sandy outstretched a hand, but hesitantly grasped the limb anyway. Jack apologized before he thanked Sandy tiredly as a sand carpet took them to the barrier.

"Pitch?" Sandy asked quietly.

For a while Jack didn't answer. As they passed beyond the barrier, Jack turned his head away to avoid looking at Sandy or the dreamsand carpet and spoke,

"It, he..." Jack took a shuddering breath, "Pitch was horrible. More terrible than he is now. He personally killed Cookie, Wisper, and Breeze. But before he killed them..." Jack hiccuped, "He squeezed every drop of fear that he could out of them. He _feasted_ on their terror. The only release or freedom from him was death." Jack broke down and cried, "I got chased in between memories and the buildings fell down. My legs were pinned by rock and wood and the fearlings scare me."

Sandy rose up and wrapped Jack up in a hug. Jack shrunk down to Sandy's size to be comforted better. The Sandman wiped away Jack's trickling tears when they were no longer a torrential downpour and rocked Jack like a child.

"I wan' Bunny." Jack's sniffling voice, almost lost in the hug, pleaded.

Sandy nodded, "Let's go find your center then."

Jack pulled back and wiped his eyes, "This way."

Jack lead Sandy to a growing ice tree, gesturing to the branch leaning against the trunk of the chilly tree.

Sandy paused, "That's your center?"

"Is something wrong? It's the staff I used to use when I was a shepherd's boy." Jack anxiously fiddled with his hands.

"No, just... It looks more like your center's channel than what your center would look like."

"Channel?" Jack queried

Sandy nodded, looking a bit sheepish, "I didn't have much time to explain last time, but I messed up instructions last time. A channel directs or restrains all this blue and green magic around you, but your center is the magic that comes from inside of you." Sandy poked Jack gently where the boy's heart was.

"Then how did I wake up? Will something happen since I recognized my channel as my center? Can it be fixed?"

"... Your staff likely was powered by your wishing and allowed you to connect to your center. What did you feel when you wished to wake up."

"I don't... happy I guess. No, joy. Pure Joy and Happiness. What does that mean?"

"That's your center. Joy is what your innate gift is." Sandy smiled encouraging at Jack.

Jack thought about it, "So I didn't need the staff to wake up?"

Sandy shook his head, "No, but it probably helped. However, because of that, you are tied a little more to your channel than you should be."

"...?" Jack tilted his head, "What do you mean?"

"If your staff is broken, you will likely feel that pain." Sandy explained solemnly.

"Wait! Do you mean the branch here or the one in real life?" Jack asked, trying to rein in his emotions,

"The one in real life."

"Is there a way to fix it so I'm not that connected to my magical channel?"

"There are ways to fix it, but it's probably best if we wait until you are healed." Sandy thought for a couple of moments, "And find the real staff."

"It should be near the lake near Burgess that I nearly drowned to save Emma in." Jack reached out to grab his mindscape staff before pausing, "Do I still need this to wake up?"

Sandy shrugged, "Go ahead and try without it."

So Jack did so, but didn't reenter the living world, "Guess I need this for a while." Jack sighed as he reached for his staff. He saw Sandy disappear and felt himself waking up as he grasped his magical channel.

/

Jack coughed as he woke up.

"You gave us a scare kiddo." Bunny was holding him. Jack must have been thrashing during his nightmares again. Jack winced and smiled weakly,

"Me too." Jack snuggled into Aster's fur and the other kits joined them, cuddling with Jack until they were asleep (courtesy of the Sandman) or Jack was calm again. Bunny was technically their magical parent now. He acted as a new father did. DNA-wise however, all the children had their mortal parent's genes. And magically wise, the Call of the Pooka only worked because E. Aster Bunnymund existed, but the kids had their own magic from the change from human to Pooka and not Aster's magic.

/

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* * *

/

/

Pitch scowled as he heard the reports about the Pooka from his nightmares. The original stories from Jackson had spread rapidly after the Underground children began getting adopted. He couldn't make the children forget about the Call of the Pooka en mass unfortunately. The worst he could do was give the children who heard the tales nightmares to fear it. There was a downside to that as abusive caretakers sometimes took advantage of that fact and would accidentally send the child away when they used it. So the 'caller' for lack of a better term didn't really have to believe much in the Pooka. That was the difference between a stranger who believed completely (like Blad) and made the call for a child to be taken away and a lacking guardian. Kids on their own could also make the call if they believed.

What frustrated the King of Nightmares the most, however, wasn't just the fact that those human children were becoming Pookas. It was the fact that it was incredibly and increasingly difficult to track or count _how_ many children had used the Call of the Pooka. The only way to keep an eye on the numbers was to see which children eventually disappeared after having a nightmare.

The Warren's magical barriers, especially since being recently strengthened, kept Pitch and his minions out and away from the new kits. That meant no unnatural nightmares for the children turned into Pooka unless they slept outside the magical haven. And Bunnymund was unlikely to let them leave on their own for a couple of centuries or at least until the kits could fight and knew not to sleep outside. Only natural nightmares caused from stress and/ or memories could occur in the Warren, but Pitch could not monitor them, because natural nightmares did not turn into Pitch's shadowy minions without the master of fear nearby. The only strong potential source of nightmares in the Warren was Jack, but for the same reason that the Sandman couldn't turn the fear-filled memories into dreams, Jack's absorbed copied memories could not turn into Nightmares, Pitch's favored shape for his minions. If Nightmares had formed anyway, they would have arrived already. At least then Pitch would have an idea of the numbers of the new Pookas. _It was a shame_, Pitch thought, _that until the experiences ran their course, Pitch couldn't give Jackson anymore nightmares, but then Sandy would be able to give the boy dreams. Although Jack could have gone insane or died from too many overwhelming experiences. Still could if Jack hadn't yet. _He would keep his Nightmares on alert for the storyteller just in case the boy survived. The king of shadows had a feeling that the boy would become a greater enemy if he ever woke up and stayed sane. If Pitch was lucky he would catch the white-haired, probably white-furred Pooka now, within a couple of centuries before the Man in the Moon decided to do something annoying like make Jackson a guardian. How had Jack managed to flash freeze the Nightmare King anyway? Pitch doubted that it had been Jamie. The boys were interesting but their powers made them more so.

/

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* * *

/

/

Time passed as it was wont to do. Pippa's father recovered and courted the widowed Mrs. Bennett, making their children real siblings when they did get married. Pippa and her father adapted easily to the Bennett family secrets after being exposed to the stories of Atlantis first.

"Grandpa!" Sophie cheered as a huge giant of a man entered the house, gifts stacked in his arms.

"Hi North!" Jamie waved from his desk beside the fireplace, struggling to think of something to write to his crush.

"Hello Apprentice!" Father Christmas boomed, eyes twinkling merrily.

"Grandpa! Grandpa! Look at what I can do now!" Sophie bounced as she tugged on North's arm, showing him that she could finally make a ball of light magic. North praised her achievement and Sophie beamed.

Pippa entered the room with freshly baked treats, "The goodies are done!" she announced, "Hi Grandpa! Want to taste test?"

"Always." North bit into a flaky pastry. Pippa had been doing well as Burgess's baker.

Not long after, Sandy and Tooth arrived, appearing visible and human to the other mortals around Burgess by use of magical amulets. It had become something of a tradition to meet up at Jamie's home twice a year after the entire group (Guardians, yetis, elves, fairies, googlies, humans) met up at one of the Guardian's homes. Once after Easter and once after Christmas.

Next three of the Pooka arrived, the younger two having recently mastered a couple of shape-shifting forms. Emma appeared as the older human version of herself, while Jack appeared the same as when he had still been human. He couldn't shape-shift his human form, something that Aster had mused might have been a side-affect from the clashing magics or from the dunking Jack received in the Winter King's lake. Each of them were holding a basket of chocolates, not to be outdone by North. Previously before Jack or Emma could hold a shape-shift, they had also used the amulets.

Monty and Cupcake were the last to arrive, holding hands and blushing as they admitted they were finally dating. Jack teased Jamie when he figured out that Jamie was trying to write to his crush who lived in another town. But eventually Jack settled down, placing his staff next to the table, and leaned over to help Jamie write the letter out. (Even though his help was mostly making Jamie laugh).

/

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* * *

/

/

Because Jack had 'absorbed' the Winter King's magic (and some of Wind Rider's), Jack felt a strong pull to bring about Winter in the areas that needed it. Mother Nature came around the Warren one day and promptly told the Pookas that Jack had new responsibilities to do. She almost immediately knew Jackson was the Winter King's son as soon as she laid eyes on his small furry presence. Her assumption was probably helped by the snowflakes Jack had been crafting at the time. She explained that Jack couldn't just stay in the Warren. His powers would not allow it. Mother Nature gave Jack a new title, saying,

"This name is both from Manny and I." The daunting lady maneuvered the newest immortal into the streaming moonlight, declaring, "Jackson Overland, as the Winter prince, you will be known as Jack Frost in the immortal/ spirit realm."

Despite his utter dislike of the cold, Bunny insisted on watching out for Jack as he went about Winter duties, which apparently included the end of autumn. At least until Jack, who disliked being guarded as he gradually grew used to his powers, suggested a rotation of Guardian 'guards'. North and Sandy didn't mind the winter chill as much as Bunny and Tooth did. And occasionally (more so after Jack could shift to his taller human form), Jack would be allowed to fly on his own (always with Wind Rider) until a curfew of sorts. While Bunny was strong and fast as a Pooka enough to defeat predators or predatory spirits, Jack was not, barely snack size. In his human form, despite his age to be seemingly 'frozen' at 14, Jack could at least defend himself more.

/

Jack smiled, content to hover in Wind Rider's embrace as he looked over heavily frosted forests, slightly frosted crops, piles of white fluffiness (not fur) growing in gradual drifts away from settlements. His sharp blue eyes picked out the various frolicking, hunting, or hiding animals. If his white hair had been messy before, it was always sticking up now. He wore simple but durable human brown clothes, a shepherd's staff in hand. A flick of feathers drew Jack's eye to the hawk dive-bombing. It was Royal! Jack had saved the bird from poachers and now they occasionally raced each other on the wind.

Jack chortled joyously as they flew higher and higher. Royal glared competitively at Jack as they climbed the atmosphere. Jack smirked back. They reached a point where the air was hard to breathe and mutually decided to start falling from there. Good thing Bunny wasn't here. He'd have a heart-attack. Jack imitated Royal's position as he dived, faster, faster, Wind Rider laughing and encouraging them on, faster... closer, closer, and then they both pulled up, climbing again.

"_JACK!_"

Whoops, guess Aster came and got a heart-attack anyway. Jack smirked, enjoying life as he flew alongside Royal, being chased by the older Pooka.


End file.
